OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Upgraded at DA Davidson

DA Davidson upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 1.4%

OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $20.12 on Friday. 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 $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $18.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.10. 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 Wednesday, June 14th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.02% and a net margin of 11.77%.The firm had revenue of $93.08 million during the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is presently 62.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $295,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 2.8% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 475,737 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $8,359,000 after purchasing an additional 13,132 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the third quarter worth about $368,000. Creative Planning boosted its position in OceanFirst Financial by 7.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 96,384 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after buying an additional 7,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 34,829 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 8,233 shares during the period. 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.