AlphaQuest LLC Boosts Holdings in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 85.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,078 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 19,827 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in OCFC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 587.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,082,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $20,130,000 after buying an additional 925,283 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 43.7% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 733,441 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $13,635,000 after buying an additional 223,203 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 14.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,241,191 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $23,074,000 after buying an additional 157,711 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 10.8% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 917,085 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $17,049,000 after buying an additional 89,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 13.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 299,434 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,566,000 after buying an additional 34,458 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

OCFC stock opened at $16.44 on Wednesday. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a one year low of $14.03 and a one year high of $21.87. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $18.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $962.68 million, a PE ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 1.03.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 5.75%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on OCFC shares. Raymond James raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group lowered their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Friday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.83.

About OceanFirst Financial

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.