9,940,366 Shares in OceanFirst Financial Corp. $OCFC Purchased by BlackRock Inc.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 9,940,366 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,135,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 0.17% of OceanFirst Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,976,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 97.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,388,304 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $41,963,000 after buying an additional 1,181,553 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $12,593,000. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in OceanFirst Financial by 15.1% in 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 buying an additional 181,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in OceanFirst Financial by 5.6% in 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 buying an additional 179,364 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

OCFC stock opened at $18.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a one year low of $17.05 and a one year high of $20.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.80.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.43. The business had revenue of $131.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.62 million. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 5.34%. On average, analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at OceanFirst Financial

In other news, Director John R. Buran sold 113,463 shares of OceanFirst Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.40, for a total transaction of $2,201,182.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.