OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) Short Interest Update

OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) saw a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,440,000 shares, an increase of 46.7% from the September 30th total of 981,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 343,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 343,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised OceanFirst Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Monday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ OCFC opened at $18.18 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.58. OceanFirst Financial has a 52 week low of $14.29 and a 52 week high of $21.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 14th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.00% and a net margin of 11.77%.The business had revenue of $93.08 million during the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is 62.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 132.3% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,325 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 4,172 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 458.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,526 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 6,998 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management lifted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,952 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $175,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.