OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James cut their price target on OceanFirst Financial from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Friday, April 19th. TheStreet raised OceanFirst Financial from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $19.00 price target (down previously from $22.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, OceanFirst Financial has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $18.20.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

Shares of OCFC stock opened at $15.47 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $15.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.40. OceanFirst Financial has a 52 week low of $12.01 and a 52 week high of $19.58. The company has a market cap of $920.93 million, a P/E ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 1.00.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.17%. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is 46.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OCFC. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in OceanFirst Financial by 1,240.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 3,213 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in OceanFirst Financial by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,579 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $176,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in OceanFirst Financial by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,725 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,796 shares in the last quarter. 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.