OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Stake Raised by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 763,840 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,399 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 1.31% of OceanFirst Financial worth $13,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OCFC. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1,036.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,466 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the third quarter worth $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 82.3% during 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 last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1,009.6% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,048 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OCFC traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.04. 612,555 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 279,557. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.44. The company has a market cap of $997.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $14.03 and a 52 week high of $21.87.

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

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.69%. OceanFirst Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OCFC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on 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 reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their target price on OceanFirst Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.83.

OceanFirst Financial 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.