Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 82,642 Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Free Report) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 218,073 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 82,642 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.37% of OceanFirst Financial worth $3,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 14.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,241,191 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $23,074,000 after purchasing an additional 157,711 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 140,665 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $2,546,000 after buying an additional 30,373 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 299,434 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $5,566,000 after purchasing an additional 34,458 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,421,373 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $26,428,000 after acquiring an additional 27,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,519 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 6,496 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of OCFC stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $15.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 284,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 295,658. The stock has a market capitalization of $937.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 0.94. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $14.03 and a fifty-two week high of $21.87. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $16.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.16. 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 (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 5.75%. Research analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. OceanFirst Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James decreased their price target on OceanFirst Financial from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Five research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, OceanFirst Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.00.

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.