OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Position Increased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 2.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,421,373 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 27,579 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $26,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of OCFC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $20,130,000 after buying an additional 925,283 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 43.7% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 733,441 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $13,635,000 after acquiring an additional 223,203 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in OceanFirst Financial by 20.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 164,626 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 807,280 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $12,828,000 after purchasing an additional 158,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 89,099 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $18.00 on Friday. 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 one year low of $14.03 and a one year high of $21.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.79. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 1.04.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $96.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.79 million. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 6.08% and a net margin of 15.28%. Analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Jr. Murphy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.03, for a total transaction of $30,045.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 177,417 shares in the company, valued at $3,553,662.51. This trade represents a 0.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 5.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OCFC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group lifted 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. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $17.00 target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.42.

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.