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

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. DA Davidson lowered OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, OceanFirst Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.33.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

OCFC stock opened at $18.35 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.86 and a 200 day moving average of $18.25. OceanFirst Financial has a twelve month low of $14.29 and a twelve month high of $20.61.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.33%.The business had revenue of $104.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.20 million. On average, research analysts forecast that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in 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 valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 7.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 4.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,548 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its position in OceanFirst Financial by 2.9% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 38,700 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $680,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. 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.