OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Stake Lessened by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its stake in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,095 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 1,221 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 0.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 71,504 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 8.5% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 1,036.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 82.3% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,055 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 94,274 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

Shares of OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $17.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.44. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $14.03 and a 52 week high of $21.87. The stock has a market cap of $997.81 million, a PE ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 1.03.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on OCFC shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Hovde Group decreased their price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.83.

OceanFirst Financial 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.