OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Shares Bought by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Free Report) by 1,810.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,138 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after buying an additional 20,979 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in OCFC. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in OceanFirst Financial by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 140,665 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $2,546,000 after acquiring an additional 30,373 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 13.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 299,434 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $5,566,000 after purchasing an additional 34,458 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 43,277 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 16,110 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 121.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 160,837 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $2,911,000 after purchasing an additional 88,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake 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 Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of OCFC stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.29. 260,497 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 298,966. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $16.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.65. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.99. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $14.10 and a fifty-two week high of $21.87.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. The company had revenue of $97.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.66 million. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 5.75%. Research analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. OceanFirst Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on OCFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James dropped their target price on OceanFirst Financial from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.67.

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.