OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

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

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of OCFC opened at $18.33 on Tuesday. OceanFirst Financial has a one year low of $14.29 and a one year high of $20.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 1.07.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $102.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $102.56 million. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.02% and a net margin of 11.77%. Sell-side analysts forecast that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of OceanFirst Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OCFC. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,952 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 4.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 2.9% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 38,700 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

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.