OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $16.66 and last traded at $16.72, with a volume of 918481 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on OCFC. Weiss Ratings downgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective (up from $19.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.50.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 0.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $18.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.43. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.34% and a net margin of 6.38%.The firm had revenue of $131.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.62 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.12%.

Insider Transactions at OceanFirst Financial

In other news, Director John Buran sold 113,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.40, for a total transaction of $2,201,182.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Schaeffer sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.91, for a total value of $104,005.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 83,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,570,815.88. This trade represents a 6.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in OceanFirst Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in OceanFirst Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

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.