Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Holdings in OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 209,459 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 31,838 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $3,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 587.2% during 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in OceanFirst Financial by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,241,191 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $23,074,000 after acquiring an additional 157,711 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in OceanFirst Financial by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 917,085 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $17,049,000 after acquiring an additional 89,099 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 299,434 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $5,566,000 after purchasing an additional 34,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 763,840 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $13,826,000 after purchasing an additional 30,399 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

OCFC stock opened at $17.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.85 and a 200-day moving average of $18.45. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $14.03 and a 12-month high of $21.87.

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

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is 48.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

OceanFirst Financial Company 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.