OceanFirst Financial Corp. (OCFC) to Distribute Quarterly Dividend of $0.20 on November 20th

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share by the savings and loans company on Friday, November 20th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 9th.

OceanFirst Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 41.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect OceanFirst Financial to earn $2.29 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.9%.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

Shares of OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $18.13 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.48. OceanFirst Financial has a 12 month low of $15.60 and a 12 month high of $20.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $185.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.79 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at OceanFirst Financial

In other OceanFirst Financial news, Director Nicos Katsoulis bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.83 per share, with a total value of $178,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 41,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $732,741.68. The trade was a 32.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Patrick Barrett acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.90 per share, for a total transaction of $89,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 152,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,727,065. This trade represents a 3.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $194,135,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,114,069 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $80,348,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518,636 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 5.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in OceanFirst Financial by 15.1% during 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 buying an additional 181,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,593,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

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.