OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,607,275 shares, a growth of 24.3% from the January 29th total of 2,901,706 shares. Currently, 6.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 639,894 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 639,894 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days. Currently, 6.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 2.3%

OCFC traded down $0.43 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $18.15. 86,284 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 727,259. OceanFirst Financial has a fifty-two week low of $14.29 and a fifty-two week high of $20.61. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 1.05.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. The company 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 6,998 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in OceanFirst Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $155,000. EMC Capital Management raised its position 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 valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 673 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.