OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) EVP Brian Schaeffer Sells 5,500 Shares of Stock

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) EVP Brian Schaeffer sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.91, for a total transaction of $104,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,570,815.88. This represents a 6.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

OceanFirst Financial stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.54. The company had a trading volume of 489,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 850,710. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.34 and its 200-day moving average is $18.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $17.05 and a 12-month high of $20.61.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.34% and a net margin of 6.38%.The business had revenue of $131.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.62 million. Equities research analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.81 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $328,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 3,185.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,756,118 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702,672 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,494,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 58.5% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,114,069 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $80,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518,636 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on OCFC shares. Weiss Ratings raised OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 price target (up from $19.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, OceanFirst Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

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.