OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.00.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler set a $19.00 price objective on OceanFirst Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of OCFC opened at $18.65 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. OceanFirst Financial has a 1 year low of $16.09 and a 1 year high of $20.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94 and a beta of 0.98.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.04. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 5.35%. The firm had revenue of $103.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $143.25 million. Analysts forecast that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% in the second quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 9,230 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,065 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $885,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 4.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.