OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The savings and loans company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.08, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $185.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.79 million.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

Shares of OCFC traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.54. The stock had a trading volume of 241,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 898,666. OceanFirst Financial has a twelve month low of $15.60 and a twelve month high of $20.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.47.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, November 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 9th. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is currently 94.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brian Schaeffer sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.91, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 6.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Buran sold 113,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.40, for a total transaction of $2,201,182.20. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting OceanFirst Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting OceanFirst Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations. OceanFirst reported adjusted earnings of $0.48 per share, above the $0.40 consensus estimate, while revenue reached approximately $185.1 million versus expectations of $177.8 million. Adjusted EPS also increased from $0.36 a year earlier. OceanFirst Financial Q3 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Loan and deposit growth improved. Total loans increased $215.7 million sequentially, including $325 million of commercial-loan growth, while deposits rose $319.3 million to $18.1 billion. Net interest margin expanded to 3.18% from 3.05% in the prior quarter and 2.91% a year earlier. OceanFirst Financial Reports Improved Core Earnings and Loan Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The quarterly dividend was maintained. The company declared a $0.20-per-share dividend payable November 20 to shareholders of record November 9. The annualized payout is $0.80 per share, representing an indicated yield of about 4.8% based on the provided stock information. OceanFirst Financial Announces Third Quarter Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Merger integration is progressing but remains costly. OceanFirst completed the Flushing acquisition’s core-system conversion and integration in September, but the quarter included $37.1 million in merger-related expenses.
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP profitability declined year over year. Net income available to common stockholders fell to $16.5 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, from $17.3 million, or $0.30, a year earlier. Nine-month net income dropped to $33.9 million from $54.0 million, partly reflecting acquisition-related costs. OceanFirst Financial Reports Third-Quarter and Nine-Month Results

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on OCFC. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings cut OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, OceanFirst Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

About OceanFirst Financial

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) is the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank, a full-service community bank headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey. The company provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.

OceanFirst Bank offers deposit products, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, consumer loans, mortgage services, online and mobile banking, and cash-management solutions. Through its wealth-management operations, the company also provides investment management, trust, and financial-planning services.

Founded in 1902, OceanFirst has grown from a savings institution serving the Jersey Shore into a regional banking organization.