OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have given OceanFirst Financial (OCFC) a consensus “Hold” rating (four holds, one buy) with an average 12‑month price target of about $21.33; several firms recently downgraded OCFC from strong‑buy to hold while one upgraded from sell to hold.
• OCFC beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $0.41 (vs. $0.39) and revenue of $104.69M, and the board declared a $0.20 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~4.2%), ex‑dividend date Apr 27 and payment May 8.

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.3333.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on OCFC shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. DA Davidson cut shares of OceanFirst Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

Shares of OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $19.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.50 and a 200 day moving average of $18.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. OceanFirst Financial has a 12 month low of $15.59 and a 12 month high of $20.61.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $104.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.20 million. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.33%. On average, research analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, April 27th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. OceanFirst Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 458.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,526 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 6,998 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $155,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% during the 2nd 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. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $184,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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