Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Buys New Stake in OceanFirst Financial Corp. $OCFC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC has purchased 41,023 shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp., investing approximately $698,000 and now holding about 0.07% of the company.
• Analysts have revised their price target for OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $20.00, with a current average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.67.
• OceanFirst Financial recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.20, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.7% with a payout ratio of 56.74%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 41,023 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $698,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.07% of OceanFirst Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,516,177 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $59,810,000 after buying an additional 61,515 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,228,902 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $58,442,000 after purchasing an additional 53,476 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,731,785 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $29,458,000 after purchasing an additional 56,526 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 34.3% during the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,026,099 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $17,454,000 after purchasing an additional 262,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 964,646 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $17,460,000 after purchasing an additional 47,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 0.8%

OceanFirst Financial stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $18.10. The stock had a trading volume of 211,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 303,883. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $17.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.15. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $14.29 and a twelve month high of $21.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 1.04.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $99.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.26 million. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.22% and a net margin of 12.89%. Analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. OceanFirst Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.67.

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.