GW&K Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in OceanFirst Financial Corp. $OCFC

GW&K Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 2.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,281,870 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 30,337 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $22,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 458.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,526 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 6,998 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management increased its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,952 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 7.7% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,343 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on OCFC shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. DA Davidson downgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, OceanFirst Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.33.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ OCFC opened at $18.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.70 and a 200-day moving average of $18.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 1.05. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $14.29 and a 12 month high of $20.61.

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

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is 68.97%.

OceanFirst Financial Profile

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.