OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,901,706 shares, a growth of 20.3% from the January 15th total of 2,411,785 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 847,198 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 5.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 5.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 847,198 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on OCFC shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial cut shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. DA Davidson cut shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Wall Street Zen raised OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, OceanFirst Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.33.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of OCFC stock traded down $0.28 on Wednesday, reaching $19.43. The company had a trading volume of 246,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 759,998. OceanFirst Financial has a 12 month low of $14.29 and a 12 month high of $20.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.01 and a 200-day moving average of $18.40.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.33%.The business had revenue of $104.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.20 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is 68.97%.

Institutional Trading of OceanFirst Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OCFC. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $192,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 20,600 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 2,067 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 234.9% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 62,744 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 44,011 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in OceanFirst Financial by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,204 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in OceanFirst Financial by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 74,387 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,336,000 after buying an additional 2,329 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.