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

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,296,318 shares, a decrease of 34.8% from the May 31st total of 5,054,943 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,305,458 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 6.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

OCFC opened at $19.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.98. OceanFirst Financial has a 52-week low of $16.09 and a 52-week high of $20.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.64.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.04. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 5.35%. The business had revenue of $103.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $143.25 million. Equities analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 27th. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is 68.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson increased their price target on OceanFirst Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $19.00 price objective on OceanFirst Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, OceanFirst Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 493,623 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $8,905,000 after purchasing an additional 68,347 shares during the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 1st quarter worth $259,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,065 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 10.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 210,107 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,790,000 after buying an additional 19,245 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 2.4% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 29,567 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.