BNP Paribas Financial Markets Reduces Stake in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its holdings in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 29.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,384 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 28,198 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $1,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OCFC. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in 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 valued at $13,635,000 after buying an additional 223,203 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 20.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 956,320 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $15,196,000 after buying an additional 164,626 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 24.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 807,280 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $12,828,000 after buying an additional 158,590 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 32.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 272,243 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $4,326,000 after buying an additional 66,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in OceanFirst Financial by 105.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 69,981 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 35,994 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

Shares of OCFC opened at $19.88 on Tuesday. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a one year low of $14.03 and a one year high of $21.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.29 and its 200-day moving average is $17.46. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.04.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 15.28% and a return on equity of 6.08%. The business had revenue of $96.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.79 million. Equities analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler set a $17.00 price objective on OceanFirst Financial and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $19.50 to $21.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, OceanFirst Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph M. Jr. Murphy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.03, for a total transaction of $30,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 177,417 shares in the company, valued at $3,553,662.51. This represents a 0.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Profile

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.