OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.62, but opened at $17.70. OceanFirst Financial shares last traded at $16.61, with a volume of 20,405 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on OCFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James cut their price objective on OceanFirst Financial from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.67.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Up 0.8%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $16.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $989.02 million, a P/E ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.99.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $97.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $95.66 million. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.45%. Analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. OceanFirst Financial's payout ratio is currently 52.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 807.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1,009.6% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,048 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 6,001.3% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,152 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 9,002 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

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.