Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 19,598 Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. $OCFC

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its position in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,408,675 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 19,598 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $24,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in OCFC. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 132.3% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,325 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 4,172 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $175,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,132 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,696 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the first quarter valued at $233,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

Shares of OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $18.85 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.79. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 1-year low of $14.29 and a 1-year high of $21.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 1.06.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 14th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.00% and a net margin of 11.77%.The company had revenue of $93.08 million for the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on OCFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Monday, October 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.