OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Share Price Breaks Above 50-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)’s stock price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $17.54 and traded as high as $17.78. OceanFirst Financial shares last traded at $17.68, with a volume of 2,602,906 shares changing hands.

OceanFirst Financial News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting OceanFirst Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. OceanFirst reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.48 per share, above the $0.40 analyst consensus, while revenue of approximately $185.1 million topped the $177.8 million estimate. Adjusted EPS also improved from $0.36 a year earlier. OceanFirst Q3 earnings and revenues top estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying banking trends strengthened. Net interest income rose to $172.1 million from $90.7 million a year earlier, and the net interest margin expanded to 3.18% from 3.05% in the prior quarter and 2.91% a year ago. Deposits increased by $319.3 million sequentially to $18.1 billion, while loans grew $215.7 million, including $325 million of commercial-loan growth. OceanFirst third-quarter financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns remain attractive. The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equal to $0.80 annually and a yield of approximately 4.6% based on the referenced trading price. The dividend is payable November 20 to shareholders of record November 9. OceanFirst declares $0.20 dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Management highlighted integration progress. OceanFirst completed the Flushing acquisition’s core-system conversion and related integration activities in September, a milestone that could support future efficiencies. Investors are likely to focus on management’s earnings-call commentary regarding merger synergies, balance-sheet growth and credit quality. OceanFirst Q3 earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP profitability remained pressured by merger costs. Net income available to common stockholders was $16.5 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, down from $17.3 million, or $0.30, a year earlier. Results included $37.1 million in merger-related expenses, while nine-month earnings declined to $0.45 per share from $0.94. OceanFirst reports third-quarter earnings

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.00.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Up 6.1%

The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.54 and its 200 day moving average is $18.47.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.08. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 5.34%. The company had revenue of $185.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.79 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at OceanFirst Financial

In other news, EVP Brian Schaeffer sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.91, for a total transaction of $104,005.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John R. Buran sold 113,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.40, for a total value of $2,201,182.20. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the second quarter valued at about $194,135,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 58.5% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,114,069 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $80,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518,636 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 179,364 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 181,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the second quarter worth about $12,593,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About OceanFirst Financial

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) is the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank, a full-service community bank headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey. The company provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.

OceanFirst Bank offers deposit products, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, consumer loans, mortgage services, online and mobile banking, and cash-management solutions. Through its wealth-management operations, the company also provides investment management, trust, and financial-planning services.

Founded in 1902, OceanFirst has grown from a savings institution serving the Jersey Shore into a regional banking organization.