Ieq Capital LLC Invests $1.85 Million in OceanFirst Financial Corp. $OCFC

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 94,927 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,854,000. Ieq Capital LLC owned about 0.16% of OceanFirst Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OCFC. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 493,623 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $8,905,000 after buying an additional 68,347 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,409,103 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $61,499,000 after acquiring an additional 179,364 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,383,588 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $24,960,000 after acquiring an additional 181,557 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in OceanFirst Financial by 114.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 307,356 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,545,000 after acquiring an additional 164,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 46.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 275,825 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,976,000 after acquiring an additional 86,951 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ OCFC opened at $18.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19 and a beta of 0.99. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a one year low of $17.05 and a one year high of $20.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.81.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 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 business had revenue of $131.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.62 million. Analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders 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 4.2%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other OceanFirst Financial news, Director John R. Buran sold 113,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.40, for a total transaction of $2,201,182.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on OCFC. Weiss Ratings raised OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on OceanFirst Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

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.