Analysts Set OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Target Price at $20.83

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.83.

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

OceanFirst Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $17.17 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 1.03. OceanFirst Financial has a 52 week low of $14.03 and a 52 week high of $21.87.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 5.75%. Analysts forecast that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is currently 48.48%.

Institutional Trading of OceanFirst Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OCFC. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1,036.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,466 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in OceanFirst Financial by 807.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,055 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.