Raymond James Issues Pessimistic Forecast for OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Stock Price

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) had its price objective trimmed by Raymond James from $24.00 to $21.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a strong-buy rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

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

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 3.1 %

OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $15.07 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. OceanFirst Financial has a 12-month low of $14.03 and a 12-month high of $21.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $882.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.50 and a 200 day moving average of $18.40.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.45%. As a group, research analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.31%. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is presently 48.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OCFC. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,319 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $432,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1,810.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 22,138 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 20,979 shares during the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $192,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 130,860 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,369,000 after acquiring an additional 17,513 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About OceanFirst Financial

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.