OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Short Interest Update

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) saw a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,440,000 shares, an increase of 46.7% from the September 30th total of 981,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 343,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 343,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 978.1% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 12,420 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 11,268 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 38,700 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $680,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 16,075 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,343 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 1.2%

OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $17.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. OceanFirst Financial has a 52-week low of $14.29 and a 52-week high of $21.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.02.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 14th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 5.00%. The firm had revenue of $93.08 million during the quarter. Equities analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on OCFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Monday, October 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, OceanFirst Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

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.