OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• OceanFirst Financial shares fell to a new 52-week low of $17.04, below the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, amid trading volume exceeding 1 million shares.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with one Buy and five Hold ratings; the average price target is $21.50, while Piper Sandler raised its target to $21 from $19.
• The company met quarterly EPS expectations at $0.43 but missed revenue estimates, while paying a $0.20 quarterly dividend for a 4.7% annualized yield. Two insiders also recently sold shares.

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $17.04 and last traded at $17.0150, with a volume of 1020459 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $21.00 price target (up from $19.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.50.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.74.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.43. The company had revenue of $131.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.62 million. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.34% and a net margin of 6.38%. On average, research analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. OceanFirst Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.12%.

Insider Activity at OceanFirst Financial

In related news, Director John R. Buran sold 113,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.40, for a total transaction of $2,201,182.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Schaeffer sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.91, for a total value of $104,005.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,570,815.88. This trade represents a 6.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of OceanFirst Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in OceanFirst Financial by 174.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,918 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the second quarter worth about $81,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

About OceanFirst Financial

OceanFirst Financial Corp. is the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank, a community-focused financial institution headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey. OceanFirst Bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations through its branch network and digital banking platforms.

The bank's products and services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential mortgages, home equity loans, consumer lending, commercial real estate financing, business loans and lines of credit.

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