OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. Zacks Research raised OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. DA Davidson downgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.60.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $17.87 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.07. OceanFirst Financial has a 1 year low of $14.29 and a 1 year high of $20.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $18.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.25.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 14th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 EPS 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 during the quarter. Analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 458.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,526 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 6,998 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,952 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 10,285 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,343 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.