Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 12,810 Shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) by 36.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,859 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 12,810 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in OceanFirst Financial were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1,036.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,466 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in OceanFirst Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 82.3% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,055 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1,009.6% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,048 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $17.06 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $998.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. OceanFirst Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $14.03 and a 52-week high of $21.87.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 5.75%. On average, equities analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial Corp. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders 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 4.69%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.