OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $20.33 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts remain cautious: All five covering brokerages rate OceanFirst Financial “Hold,” with an average 12-month price target of $20.33. Piper Sandler recently cut its target from $21 to $18 and maintained a neutral rating.
• Shares are trading near their yearly low: OCFC opened at $16.08, compared with a 12-month range of $16.06 to $20.61, and has a market capitalization of approximately $1.55 billion.
• Dividend yield is attractive but payout is high: The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.20, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 5.0%, while its payout ratio stands at 94.12%.

Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.33.

OCFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered OceanFirst Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

OCFC stock opened at $16.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 1.02. OceanFirst Financial has a 12-month low of $16.06 and a 12-month high of $20.61. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $18.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 5.34%. The business had revenue of $131.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.62 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. OceanFirst Financial's payout ratio is presently 94.12%.

Insider Activity at OceanFirst Financial

In other news, Director John R. Buran sold 113,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.40, for a total transaction of $2,201,182.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Schaeffer sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,570,815.88. This represents a 6.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 18.5% during the third quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 10,940 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $182,000 after buying an additional 1,710 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 179.0% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,187 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 3,328 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $81,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 142,674 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $2,786,000 after acquiring an additional 27,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 32,994 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 2,885 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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. The company provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations through its branch network and digital banking channels.

OceanFirst Bank offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market and certificate accounts, along with residential mortgage, home equity, commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, consumer and small-business loans.

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