OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.83.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group decreased their price target on OceanFirst Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ OCFC opened at $18.27 on Monday. OceanFirst Financial has a twelve month low of $14.03 and a twelve month high of $21.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.33.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 5.75%. On average, research analysts forecast that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is presently 48.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1,036.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,466 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 807.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,055 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.