OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) PT Lowered to $20.00

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) had its price objective lowered by Raymond James from $22.00 to $20.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on OCFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an outperform rating and set a $19.00 price target (down from $22.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Monday. TheStreet raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of OceanFirst Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, OceanFirst Financial currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $18.20.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

OCFC stock opened at $15.47 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $920.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.40. OceanFirst Financial has a one year low of $12.01 and a one year high of $19.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.17%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OCFC. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $176,000. Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $267,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,725 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,796 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,334 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846 shares during the period. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 144,735 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after acquiring an additional 4,299 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.