JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in OceanFirst Financial Corp. $OCFC

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its holdings in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 833,755 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 47,749 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $14,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OCFC. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 458.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,526 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 6,998 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 10,285 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 7.7% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,343 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the period. Finally, Ledyard National Bank purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $210,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $17.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $14.29 and a 1 year high of $20.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.52.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $104.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.20 million. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 10.33% and a return on equity of 5.14%. Equities analysts forecast that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on OCFC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson lowered OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, OceanFirst Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.33.

OceanFirst Financial 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.