Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 179,364 Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. $OCFC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its OceanFirst Financial stake by 5.6%, purchasing 179,364 shares to own 3.41 million shares, or approximately 5.92% of the company. Institutional investors collectively hold nearly 71% of OCFC.
• OceanFirst reported quarterly EPS of $0.43, in line with estimates, while revenue of $131.33 million fell short of the $135.62 million consensus forecast. Analysts maintain a generally neutral outlook, with an average “Hold” rating and a $21 target price.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equating to $0.80 annually and a roughly 4.1% yield. OCFC shares recently traded at $19.31, down 1.7%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,409,103 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 179,364 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.92% of OceanFirst Financial worth $61,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of OCFC. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 458.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,526 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 6,998 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 10,285 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $184,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $186,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 4th quarter worth $192,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OCFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler set a $19.00 price objective on OceanFirst Financial and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.00.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 1.7%

OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $19.31 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $18.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.71. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.09 and a fifty-two week high of $20.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.43. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The firm had revenue of $131.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.62 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. OceanFirst Financial's payout ratio is 94.12%.

Key Headlines Impacting OceanFirst Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting OceanFirst Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: OceanFirst reported second-quarter earnings of $0.43 per share, exceeding the $0.42 analyst consensus and rising from $0.31 a year earlier. The earnings beat may support the stock by indicating improved per-share profitability. OceanFirst Financial Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, payable August 21 to shareholders of record August 10. The annualized payout implies a yield of approximately 4.1%, which may appeal to income-focused investors and reinforce the company’s shareholder-return strategy. OceanFirst Financial Dividend Strengthens Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary points to the company’s completed merger and dividend yield as key parts of the investment case, potentially improving the outlook for scale and shareholder returns. OceanFirst Financial Merger Complete, Great Dividend Yield

About OceanFirst Financial

OceanFirst Financial Corporation NASDAQ: OCFC is a bank holding company headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey, that provides a full range of community banking and financial services through its principal subsidiary, OceanFirst Bank. Established in the early 20th century, the company has built its business around serving the deposit, lending and wealth management needs of individuals, small businesses, municipalities and nonprofit organizations across New Jersey and portions of New York.

The company's core activities include accepting consumer and business deposits, making commercial, municipal and consumer loans, and offering residential mortgage financing.

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