OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Share Price Breaks Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) shares passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $18.48 and traded as low as $18.23. OceanFirst Financial shares last traded at $18.34, with a volume of 1,357,269 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18 and a beta of 1.01.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.08. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 6.55% and a net margin of 5.28%. The company had revenue of $185.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.79 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, November 9th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 9th. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 111.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other OceanFirst Financial news, Director Nicos Katsoulis purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.83 per share, with a total value of $178,300.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 41,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,741.68. This represents a 32.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Patrick Barrett purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.90 per share, with a total value of $89,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 152,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,727,065. This trade represents a 3.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $194,135,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in OceanFirst Financial by 58.5% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,114,069 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $80,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518,636 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 5.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,409,103 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $61,499,000 after purchasing an additional 179,364 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 15.1% during the first quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,383,588 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $24,960,000 after purchasing an additional 181,557 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in OceanFirst Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $12,593,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) is the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank, a full-service community bank headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey. The company provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.

OceanFirst Bank offers deposit products, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, consumer loans, mortgage services, online and mobile banking, and cash-management solutions. Through its wealth-management operations, the company also provides investment management, trust, and financial-planning services.

Founded in 1902, OceanFirst has grown from a savings institution serving the Jersey Shore into a regional banking organization.