OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Receives $21.50 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.50.

A number of analysts have weighed in on OCFC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price objective (up from $19.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other OceanFirst Financial news, EVP Brian Schaeffer sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.91, for a total value of $104,005.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,570,815.88. This represents a 6.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Buran sold 113,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.40, for a total transaction of $2,201,182.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the second quarter worth about $194,135,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 58.5% in the 2nd 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,409,103 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $61,499,000 after buying an additional 179,364 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,383,588 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $24,960,000 after buying an additional 181,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in OceanFirst Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $12,593,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $17.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. OceanFirst Financial has a 52-week low of $17.05 and a 52-week high of $20.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.21 and a 200 day moving average of $18.75.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43. The company had revenue of $131.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.62 million. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 5.34%. As a group, research analysts forecast that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is presently 94.12%.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

OceanFirst Financial Corp. is the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank, a community-focused financial institution headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey. OceanFirst Bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations through its branch network and digital banking platforms.

The bank’s products and services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential mortgages, home equity loans, consumer lending, commercial real estate financing, business loans and lines of credit.