OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Cut to "Strong Sell" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• OceanFirst Financial has been downgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating, indicating a shift in sentiment towards the company's stock performance.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings showed a miss on estimated earnings per share, reporting $0.31 instead of the expected $0.33, which could affect investor confidence.
• Institutional investors hold 70.98% of OceanFirst Financial’s stock, with significant recent increases in shareholdings by companies like Quarry LP and Tower Research Capital LLC.

Zacks Research lowered shares of OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ OCFC traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $18.34. 323,967 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 279,148. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company's 50 day moving average price is $17.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.17. OceanFirst Financial has a 12 month low of $14.29 and a 12 month high of $21.87.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $99.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.26 million. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 5.22%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in OceanFirst Financial by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,516,177 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $59,810,000 after purchasing an additional 61,515 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 4.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,817,211 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $32,001,000 after acquiring an additional 85,426 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 1.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,340,968 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $23,614,000 after acquiring an additional 14,590 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 7.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,072,375 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $18,241,000 after purchasing an additional 72,850 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 34.3% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,026,099 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $17,454,000 after purchasing an additional 262,259 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

About OceanFirst Financial

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.