Raymond James Cuts OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Price Target to $21.00

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) had its target price cut by Raymond James from $24.00 to $21.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a strong-buy rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Hovde Group decreased their price target on OceanFirst Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ OCFC opened at $17.18 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.64 and a 200-day moving average of $18.44. OceanFirst Financial has a 1-year low of $14.03 and a 1-year high of $21.87.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.45%. On average, equities research analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.66%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 587.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,082,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $20,130,000 after purchasing an additional 925,283 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 1,985.9% in the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 303,794 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,499,000 after buying an additional 289,230 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 697,788 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $12,630,000 after buying an additional 178,761 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in OceanFirst Financial by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,241,191 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $23,074,000 after buying an additional 157,711 shares during the period. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,695,000. 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.