Royce & Associates LP Cuts Stake in OceanFirst Financial Corp. $OCFC

Royce & Associates LP reduced its stake in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,366,648 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 296,005 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 2.38% of OceanFirst Financial worth $24,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 10,285 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.7% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,343 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 4.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 32,344 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $581,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 2.9% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 38,700 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Up 1.6%

OCFC stock opened at $19.02 on Wednesday. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.09 and a fifty-two week high of $20.61. The business’s 50-day moving average is $18.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 1.01.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.04. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.35% and a net margin of 10.04%.The company had revenue of $103.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $143.25 million. As a group, analysts forecast that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on OceanFirst Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.67.

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.