Insider Selling: OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) EVP Sells $104,005.00 in Stock

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) EVP Brian Schaeffer sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.91, for a total value of $104,005.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,570,815.88. The trade was a 6.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ OCFC traded down $0.30 on Tuesday, reaching $18.54. The company had a trading volume of 489,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 850,710. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $17.05 and a 1 year high of $20.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.34 and a 200-day moving average of $18.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81 and a beta of 0.99.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 5.34%. The company had revenue of $131.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.62 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is 94.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on OCFC. Weiss Ratings raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price objective (up from $19.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, OceanFirst Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% during the second quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 9,230 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,065 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 10,285 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 29,567 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

OceanFirst Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: OCFC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey, that provides a full range of community banking and financial services through its principal subsidiary, OceanFirst Bank. Established in the early 20th century, the company has built its business around serving the deposit, lending and wealth management needs of individuals, small businesses, municipalities and nonprofit organizations across New Jersey and portions of New York.

The company’s core activities include accepting consumer and business deposits, making commercial, municipal and consumer loans, and offering residential mortgage financing.