Bailard Inc. Acquires 25,221 Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

Bailard Inc. boosted its position in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 136.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,695 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,221 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc. owned about 0.07% of OceanFirst Financial worth $759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CRA Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 25,314 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 42,300 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,579 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 1.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 130,733 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,892,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $15.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $914.98 million, a PE ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.31 and its 200 day moving average is $15.41. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $12.01 and a 1 year high of $19.58.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.20%. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is currently 46.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OCFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. TheStreet raised OceanFirst Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James decreased their target price on OceanFirst Financial from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (down from $22.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.20.

OceanFirst Financial Profile

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.