Raymond James Cuts OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Price Target to $21.00

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Free Report) had its price target reduced by Raymond James from $24.00 to $21.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a strong-buy rating on the savings and loans company's stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on OCFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Hovde Group reduced their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.00.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:OCFC traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $14.90. 138,560 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 290,592. The company has a market capitalization of $872.50 million, a P/E ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 0.94. 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 $17.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.40. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. OceanFirst Financial's payout ratio is 48.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in OceanFirst Financial by 587.2% in 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 period. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1,985.9% during the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 303,794 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $5,499,000 after buying an additional 289,230 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. grew its position in OceanFirst Financial by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 697,788 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $12,630,000 after buying an additional 178,761 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,241,191 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $23,074,000 after acquiring an additional 157,711 shares during the period. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,695,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

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.