MetLife Investment Management LLC Grows Position in OceanFirst Financial Corp. $OCFC

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC has significantly increased its stake in OceanFirst Financial Corp. by 1,226.5%, now owning approximately 0.80% of the company, worth about $7.9 million.
• OceanFirst Financial reported a quarterly loss with earnings per share of $0.31, missing analysts' estimates of $0.33, and had a revenue of $99.37 million compared to expectations of $101.26 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.3%, with a current dividend payout ratio of 56.74%.

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Free Report) by 1,226.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 464,258 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after acquiring an additional 429,259 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.80% of OceanFirst Financial worth $7,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the first quarter worth about $175,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $183,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $192,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,728 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 882 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 1.1%

OCFC stock traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.18. The stock had a trading volume of 230,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,605. The company's 50-day moving average price is $17.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.07. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $14.29 and a 12-month high of $21.87.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.02). OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.22% 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. 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 is 56.74%.

OceanFirst Financial 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.