Third Avenue Management LLC Has $1.98 Million Stock Position in OceanFirst Financial Corp. $OCFC

Key Points

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Third Avenue Management LLC raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Free Report) by 91.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 116,643 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after acquiring an additional 55,784 shares during the period. Third Avenue Management LLC owned 0.20% of OceanFirst Financial worth $1,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 26,272 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 90.6% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 30,813 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 14,649 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 7.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,072,375 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $18,241,000 after acquiring an additional 72,850 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in OceanFirst Financial by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,326,378 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $22,562,000 after purchasing an additional 117,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $698,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Up 6.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:OCFC traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $18.25. The stock had a trading volume of 467,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 303,883. 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 company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 1.04. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $14.29 and a 12-month high of $21.87. The company's 50 day moving average is $17.60 and its 200-day moving average is $17.15.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 5.22%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. OceanFirst Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.