OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,557 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 8,507 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 41,905 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 25,100 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 1,145 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $192,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 63,539 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after buying an additional 14,199 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on OCFC. Piper Sandler set a $17.00 target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $19.50 to $21.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph M. Jr. Murphy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.03, for a total transaction of $30,045.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 177,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,553,662.51. The trade was a 0.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 1.9 %

OCFC stock opened at $19.40 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $14.03 and a 1 year high of $21.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.04.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $96.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.79 million. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 15.28% and a return on equity of 6.08%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.71%.

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.