AlphaQuest LLC Boosts Holdings in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 85.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,078 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,827 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC owned 0.07% of OceanFirst Financial worth $780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1,036.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,466 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,055 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson reissued 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 lifted their price target 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 lowered their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Five research 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.83.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $16.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $962.68 million, a P/E ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $14.03 and a fifty-two week high of $21.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.48.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 5.75%. Analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.87%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.48%.

OceanFirst Financial 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.