OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Shares Purchased by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 23.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 174,444 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,316 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.29% of OceanFirst Financial worth $3,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 15,194 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525 shares during the period. CRA Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 25,314 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $861,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 164.9% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 295,234 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,125,000 after purchasing an additional 183,796 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $1,701,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $15.47 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $12.01 and a 52-week high of $19.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $920.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 1.00.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on OCFC. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Friday, April 19th. TheStreet upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Monday. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, OceanFirst Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.20.

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.