Insider Buying: OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) CFO Purchases $89,500.00 in Stock

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) CFO Patrick Barrett bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was 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 directly owned 152,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,727,065. The trade was a 3.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

OCFC stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.86. 822,923 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 911,205. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.47. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $15.60 and a 1 year high of $20.61.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released 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 net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 6.55%. The company had revenue of $185.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.79 million. On average, equities analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% during the second quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 9,230 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 49,065 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 29,567 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 6.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 18,938 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 174.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,918 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on OCFC shares. 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 report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.00.

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.