Bailard Inc. Boosts Stake in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

Bailard Inc. increased its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 136.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 43,695 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 25,221 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $176,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,725 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 3,796 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,334 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 6,846 shares in the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 144,735 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,094,000 after buying an additional 4,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $15.37 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $15.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.41. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $12.01 and a 12 month high of $19.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $914.98 million, a P/E ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 1.00.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.20%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on OCFC. TheStreet upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Friday, April 19th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.20.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

OceanFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank N.A. that provides community banking services to retail and commercial customers. It accepts money market accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, non-interest-bearing accounts, and time deposits, that includes brokered deposits to retail, government, and business customers.