Yahoo Finance OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Will Pay A Dividend Of US$0.17
OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) will pay a dividend of US$0.17 on the 20th of May. This makes the dividend yield 3.6%, which will augment investor returns quite nicely.
Check out our latest analysis for OceanFirst Financial
OceanFirst Financial's Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions
Impressive dividend yields are good, but this doesn't matter much if the payments can't be sustained. Based on the last payment, OceanFirst Financial was quite comfortably earning enough to cover the dividend. This indicates that a lot of the earnings are being reinvested into the business, with the aim of fueling growth.
Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 30.8% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 32% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.
OceanFirst Financial Has A Solid Track Record
The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. The first annual payment during the last 10 years was US$0.48 in 2012, and the most recent fiscal year payment was US$0.68. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 3.5% a year over that time. While the consistency in the dividend payments is impressive, we think the relatively slow rate of growth is less attractive.
We Could See OceanFirst Financial's Dividend Growing
Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. OceanFirst Financial has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 7.9% per annum. The company is paying a reasonable amount of earnings to shareholders, and is growing earnings at a decent rate so we think it could be a decent dividend stock.
We Really Like OceanFirst Financial's Dividend
Overall, we like to see the dividend staying consistent, and we think OceanFirst Financial might even raise payments in the future. The company is easily earning enough to cover its dividend payments and it is great to see that these earnings are being translated into cash flow. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.
It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for OceanFirst Financial that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is OceanFirst Financial not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
