Bailard Inc. Makes New Investment in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 13,700 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the first quarter worth about $39,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 1,240.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 3,213 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the first quarter worth about $150,000. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the first quarter worth about $172,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 437.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,525 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 8,565 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of OCFC stock opened at $17.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.51 and a 200 day moving average of $15.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.03. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $12.01 and a twelve month high of $18.96.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The savings and loans company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $170.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.93 million. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 5.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 target price (down previously from $19.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Friday, May 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

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.