Insider Selling: OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) EVP Sells $104,005.00 in Stock

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

OceanFirst Financial Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $19.28 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $19.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.78. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $17.05 and a 1 year high of $20.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68 and a beta of 0.97. 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 issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $131.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.62 million. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 5.34%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is currently 94.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on OCFC shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the second quarter valued at about $328,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in OceanFirst Financial by 3,185.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,756,118 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $34,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702,672 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,494,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,114,069 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $80,348,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518,636 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.