OceanFirst Financial’s (OCFC) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reiterated their neutral rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $21.00 price objective on the savings and loans company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $19.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on OceanFirst Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings raised OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.50.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

Shares of OCFC stock opened at $19.42 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.77. OceanFirst Financial has a 52 week low of $16.29 and a 52 week high of $20.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.85 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.43. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The company had revenue of $131.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.62 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial 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, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is 94.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the second quarter worth about $194,135,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,976,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 97.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,388,304 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $41,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181,553 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,593,000. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,383,588 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $24,960,000 after acquiring an additional 181,557 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About OceanFirst Financial

OceanFirst Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: OCFC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey, that provides a full range of community banking and financial services through its principal subsidiary, OceanFirst Bank. Established in the early 20th century, the company has built its business around serving the deposit, lending and wealth management needs of individuals, small businesses, municipalities and nonprofit organizations across New Jersey and portions of New York.

The company’s core activities include accepting consumer and business deposits, making commercial, municipal and consumer loans, and offering residential mortgage financing.