Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 17,766 Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its holdings in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 41.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,538 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 17,766 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of OCFC. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,454 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 807.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake 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 valued at $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. raised its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 44,371 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $803,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $16.33 on Thursday. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $14.03 and a 52 week high of $21.87. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $16.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.01. The stock has a market cap of $953.07 million, a P/E ratio of 9.89 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.45%. The business had revenue of $97.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $95.66 million. On average, equities analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.90%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their target price on OceanFirst Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.67.

About OceanFirst Financial

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.