Brian Schaeffer Sells 5,500 Shares of OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Stock

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) EVP Brian Schaeffer sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.91, for a total value of $104,005.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,570,815.88. This trade represents a 6.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $19.09 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $19.34 and a 200-day moving average of $18.79. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 0.98. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $17.05 and a 1 year high of $20.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 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 5.34%. The business had revenue of $131.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.62 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.12%.

Institutional Trading of OceanFirst Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the second quarter worth $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 174.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,918 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in OceanFirst Financial during the second quarter worth $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on OCFC shares. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective (up from $19.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.50.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

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.