OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Receives $20.83 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.83.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on OCFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group dropped their price objective on OceanFirst Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ OCFC opened at $17.70 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. OceanFirst Financial has a 52 week low of $14.03 and a 52 week high of $21.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $18.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.39. The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.05.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 5.75%. As a group, equities analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OCFC. CWM LLC boosted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 105.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 21,639 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 11,114 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 3.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 41,625 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 3.2% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,023 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the third quarter worth $222,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,815 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.