OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• OceanFirst Financial has a consensus “Hold” rating from six analysts: five holds and one buy. The average 12-month price target is $21.50, compared with the stock’s reported price of $18.67.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.43, matching estimates, while revenue of $131.33 million fell short of the $135.62 million consensus forecast.
• OceanFirst declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, or $0.80 annualized, representing a 4.3% yield; institutional investors own nearly 71% of the stock, while insiders recently reported notable share sales.

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.50.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $21.00 price objective (up from $19.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at OceanFirst Financial

In other OceanFirst Financial news, EVP Brian Schaeffer sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.91, for a total transaction of $104,005.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,570,815.88. The trade was a 6.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Buran sold 113,463 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.40, for a total value of $2,201,182.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the second quarter worth $81,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 23.4% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 142,674 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $2,786,000 after purchasing an additional 27,056 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 32,994 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 42.7% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,498 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 6,735 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 0.6%

OCFC opened at $18.67 on Tuesday. OceanFirst Financial has a fifty-two week low of $17.05 and a fifty-two week high of $20.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96 and a beta of 0.97.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.34% and a net margin of 6.38%.The company had revenue of $131.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.62 million. On average, research analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. OceanFirst Financial's payout ratio is presently 94.12%.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

OceanFirst Financial Corp. is the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank, a community-focused financial institution headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey. OceanFirst Bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations through its branch network and digital banking platforms.

The bank's products and services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential mortgages, home equity loans, consumer lending, commercial real estate financing, business loans and lines of credit.

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