Analysts Set OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) PT at $20.42

Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.75.

Several brokerages have weighed in on OCFC. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Friday. Raymond James raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler set a $17.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $18.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.29. OceanFirst Financial has a one year low of $14.03 and a one year high of $21.87. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.06.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 15.28% and a return on equity of 6.08%. As a group, equities analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at OceanFirst Financial

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 1,036.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,466 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,055 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 98.3% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,737 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 3,835 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.