OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

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

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. DA Davidson lowered OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $17.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.05. OceanFirst Financial has a 12-month low of $14.29 and a 12-month high of $20.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 10.33% and a return on equity of 5.14%. The company had revenue of $104.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.20 million. Sell-side analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 458.0% in 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 period. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $155,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OceanFirst Financial Company 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.