OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.83.

Several analysts have issued reports on OCFC shares. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Hovde Group reduced their price objective on OceanFirst Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:OCFC traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.19. 229,438 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 279,080. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 1.03. OceanFirst Financial has a 12 month low of $14.03 and a 12 month high of $21.87. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $17.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Remove Ads

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.45%. Sell-side analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. OceanFirst Financial's payout ratio is currently 48.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OCFC. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 1,036.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,466 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,337 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 807.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 82.3% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,055 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About OceanFirst Financial

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.