OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Stock Price Down 5.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• OceanFirst Financial Corp. shares fell by 5.1% to $18.35 during mid-day trading, significantly lower than the previous closing price of $19.33.
• Analyst ratings have varied recently, with Zacks downgrading the stock to a "strong sell," whereas Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded it to "outperform" with a new price target of $22.00.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.3%, with the payout ratio currently at 56.74%.

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) shares were down 5.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $18.09 and last traded at $18.35. Approximately 23,326 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 310,527 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OCFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of OceanFirst Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 1st. DA Davidson upgraded OceanFirst Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, OceanFirst Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.80.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average is $18.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 14th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.22% and a net margin of 12.89%.The business had revenue of $93.08 million during the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. OceanFirst Financial's payout ratio is currently 56.74%.

Institutional Trading of OceanFirst Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 490.4% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 34,154 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 28,369 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 12.7% in the third quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 31,100 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 5.0% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,407 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,870 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 8.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 23,306 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 10,285 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.

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