Release Date: October 18, 2024
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
- OceanFirst Financial Corp (OCFC, Financial) reported GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.42 for the third quarter, indicating stable financial performance.
- The company's asset quality metrics remain strong, with non-performing loans at 0.28% and loans 30 to 89 days past due at 0.15% of total loans.
- OCFC's tangible book value per share increased by 8% compared to the same period last year, reaching $19.28.
- The company successfully repurchased nearly 1.4 million shares at a weighted average cost of $15.38, indicating strong capital management.
- OCFC's board approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per common share, marking the 111th consecutive quarterly cash dividend, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.
Negative Points
- Operating expenses increased by $5 million to $64 million, including $1.7 million of non-recurring expenses related to acquisitions.
- Net interest income and margin remained flat at $82 million and 2.67%, respectively, indicating limited growth in these areas.
- The company's provision for credit losses totaled $517,000, with half applied to pipeline commitments, suggesting ongoing credit risk management challenges.
- OCFC's non-interest expense is projected to increase to a range of $63 million to $65 million in the fourth quarter, reflecting higher operational costs.
- The company anticipates limited share repurchases in the near term due to recent stock price improvements and expectations of organic growth, potentially impacting shareholder returns.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Can you provide more details on the recent acquisitions, particularly Spring Garden Capital?
A: Christopher Maher, Chairman and CEO, explained that Spring Garden Capital is a real estate bridge lending group focused on renovation and rehabilitation of housing in urban markets. The business is profitable and provides rate-qualifying assets, with a borrower base that includes a significant portion of minority or women-owned businesses. The business is expected to grow at about 10% annually.
Q: What impact do you expect on non-interest income from the mortgage business acquisition?
A: Christopher Maher clarified that the guidance includes expenses from both Garden State Home Loans and Spring Garden Capital. The mortgage business is expected to be net accretive to profitability over the next year, with some volatility in expenses due to commission-based sales.
Q: How are you managing deposit repricing in the current rate environment?
A: Joseph Lebel, President and COO, stated that they have been aggressively reducing rates and have retained over 95% of maturing CDs they wanted to keep. The focus is on growing the client base to reduce dependence on brokered business.
Q: What are your expectations for net interest margin and income in the coming quarters?
A: Patrick Barrett, CFO, mentioned that they expect modest expansion in net interest margin, with net interest income expected to grow steadily. The outlook is subject to interest rates, loan growth, and funding mix trends.
Q: Can you elaborate on your capital deployment strategy, especially regarding the upcoming repricing of sub debt and preferred equity?
A: Christopher Maher indicated that they are keeping capital on hand for organic growth and optionality around repricing instruments. They may redeem some or all of the instruments over time, depending on market conditions and capital costs.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
