OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Shares Bought by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,371 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc. owned 0.08% of OceanFirst Financial worth $803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 0.7% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 71,504 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 5.9% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,815 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 8.5% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 14,564 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1,036.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,466 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the third quarter worth about $25,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $17.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 1.05. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 1-year low of $14.03 and a 1-year high of $21.87. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.45%. Equities analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued 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 dividend yield of 4.50%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OCFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Hovde Group cut their price target on OceanFirst Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.83.

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.