OceanFirst Financial Corp. reported net income available to common stockholders of $20.9 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2024. This represents a decrease from $26.7 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, in the corresponding prior year period. For the full year 2024, net income available to common stockholders was $96.0 million, or $1.65 per diluted share, a decrease from $100.0 million, or $1.70 per diluted share, in the prior year.
Net interest income for Q4 2024 increased by $1.1 million from the prior linked quarter to $83.3 million, and the net interest margin expanded to 2.69% from 2.67% sequentially. This improvement was partly offset by a decrease in yields on interest-earning assets due to lower market interest rates. The total cost of deposits decreased to 2.32% from 2.44% in the prior linked quarter.
The provision for credit losses for the quarter was $3.5 million, which included a $1.4 million initial provision related to the acquisition of Spring Garden Capital Group, LLC. Operating expenses increased to $64.8 million, primarily due to acquisitions during the year. Total loans decreased by $76.5 million to $10.12 billion from December 31, 2023, but the loan pipeline increased by $123.6 million to $306.7 million.
Chairman and CEO Christopher D. Maher commented that the results reflect an inflection point in net interest income and margin, loan and deposit growth, and continued strong asset quality. He added that the company remains focused on high-quality growth while maintaining expense and credit discipline in 2025. The Board of Directors declared its 112th consecutive quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share on common stock.
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