Barclays PLC Acquires 34,458 Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

Barclays PLC raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 299,434 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after buying an additional 34,458 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.51% of OceanFirst Financial worth $5,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 587.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,082,855 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $20,130,000 after buying an additional 925,283 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 733,441 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $13,635,000 after purchasing an additional 223,203 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 20.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 956,320 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $15,196,000 after buying an additional 164,626 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 807,280 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $12,828,000 after buying an additional 158,590 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 917,085 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $17,049,000 after acquiring an additional 89,099 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on OCFC shares. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $19.50 to $21.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler set a $17.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at OceanFirst Financial

In related news, Director Joseph M. Jr. Murphy sold 1,500 shares of OceanFirst Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.03, for a total value of $30,045.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 177,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,553,662.51. This trade represents a 0.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

OCFC stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.79. 807,825 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 300,968. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $14.03 and a 52 week high of $21.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 1.04.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $96.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $92.79 million. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 15.28% and a return on equity of 6.08%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.50%. OceanFirst Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

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.