OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Stock: Insider Nicos Katsoulis Buys 10,000 Shares

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Director Nicos Katsoulis purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.83 per share, with a total value of $178,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $732,741.68. This represents a 32.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

OCFC traded up $0.76 during trading on Monday, reaching $18.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 308,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 913,059. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.47. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $15.60 and a 52-week high of $20.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97 and a beta of 1.01.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.08. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 6.55% and a net margin of 5.28%. The business had revenue of $185.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $177.79 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, November 9th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 9th. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the second quarter worth about $194,135,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the second quarter worth about $12,593,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,209,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $9,556,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.