Choreo LLC Takes $363,000 Position in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 21,338 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of OCFC. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 807.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $183,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $192,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,728 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 2.5%

OCFC traded down $0.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.36. 425,945 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 286,427. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $14.29 and a 1 year high of $21.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.31. The firm has a market cap of $955.16 million, a P/E ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.99.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.02). OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.18% and a net margin of 12.89%. The business had revenue of $99.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.26 million. As a group, analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. OceanFirst Financial's payout ratio is currently 56.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.67.

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.