OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.3333.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on OCFC shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial lowered OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Wall Street Zen raised OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

OCFC stock opened at $19.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 1.07. OceanFirst Financial has a 1 year low of $14.29 and a 1 year high of $20.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $104.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.20 million. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 10.33% and a return on equity of 5.14%. Research analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of OCFC. Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in OceanFirst Financial by 18.7% during the third quarter. Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 897,091 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $15,762,000 after acquiring an additional 141,463 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 398,036 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $7,009,000 after purchasing an additional 11,646 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,340,968 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $23,614,000 after purchasing an additional 14,590 shares in the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $5,182,000. Finally, Creative Planning increased its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 124.5% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 89,374 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 49,571 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

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.