Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $178,000 Position in OceanFirst Financial Corp. $OCFC

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 92.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,103 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 122,728 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $178,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 10,285 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management lifted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 8.7% during the second quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,952 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 7.7% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,343 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its holdings 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 worth $680,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OCFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. DA Davidson cut shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.33.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

OCFC opened at $19.23 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58 and a beta of 1.07. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $14.29 and a 52 week high of $20.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.33%.The company had revenue of $104.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.20 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is presently 68.97%.

About OceanFirst Financial

OceanFirst Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: OCFC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey, that provides a full range of community banking and financial services through its principal subsidiary, OceanFirst Bank. Established in the early 20th century, the company has built its business around serving the deposit, lending and wealth management needs of individuals, small businesses, municipalities and nonprofit organizations across New Jersey and portions of New York.

The company’s core activities include accepting consumer and business deposits, making commercial, municipal and consumer loans, and offering residential mortgage financing.