OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Short Interest Update

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,901,706 shares, a growth of 20.3% from the January 15th total of 2,411,785 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 847,198 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 5.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 5.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 847,198 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OCFC traded up $0.13 on Tuesday, hitting $19.71. 501,184 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 771,245. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.99 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. OceanFirst Financial has a 1-year low of $14.29 and a 1-year high of $20.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.38.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.33%.The firm had revenue of $104.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.20 million. Sell-side analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is 68.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,407,118 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $61,158,000 after acquiring an additional 9,154 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 97.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,388,304 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $41,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181,553 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 3.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,874,457 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $32,934,000 after purchasing an additional 57,246 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,817,711 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $32,628,000 after buying an additional 27,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,662,653 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $29,213,000 after buying an additional 191,383 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on OCFC shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson downgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, OceanFirst Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.33.

About OceanFirst Financial

OceanFirst Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: OCFC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey, that provides a full range of community banking and financial services through its principal subsidiary, OceanFirst Bank. Established in the early 20th century, the company has built its business around serving the deposit, lending and wealth management needs of individuals, small businesses, municipalities and nonprofit organizations across New Jersey and portions of New York.

The company’s core activities include accepting consumer and business deposits, making commercial, municipal and consumer loans, and offering residential mortgage financing.