OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at DA Davidson

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) was upgraded by DA Davidson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

OCFC has been the subject of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised OceanFirst Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up previously from $21.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ OCFC opened at $20.12 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.09. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. OceanFirst Financial has a 1 year low of $14.29 and a 1 year high of $20.61.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 14th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 5.02%. The business had revenue of $93.08 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 132.3% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,325 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,172 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 458.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,526 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 6,998 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 8.7% in the second quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,952 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 10,285 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

About OceanFirst Financial

OceanFirst Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: OCFC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey, that provides a full range of community banking and financial services through its principal subsidiary, OceanFirst Bank. Established in the early 20th century, the company has built its business around serving the deposit, lending and wealth management needs of individuals, small businesses, municipalities and nonprofit organizations across New Jersey and portions of New York.

The company’s core activities include accepting consumer and business deposits, making commercial, municipal and consumer loans, and offering residential mortgage financing.