OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Receives $21.33 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.3333.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on OCFC shares. DA Davidson downgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Raymond James Financial lowered OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th.

Institutional Trading of OceanFirst Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 458.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,526 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 6,998 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $155,000. EMC Capital Management grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 8.7% in the second quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,952 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased 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 valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OCFC opened at $19.78 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.28. OceanFirst Financial has a twelve month low of $14.29 and a twelve month high of $20.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

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

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.97%.

About OceanFirst Financial

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.