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

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

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

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $18.35 on Wednesday. OceanFirst Financial has a 1-year low of $14.29 and a 1-year high of $20.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $18.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.25. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 1.07.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $104.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.20 million. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.33%. Sell-side analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 458.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 6,998 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $155,000. EMC Capital Management lifted its position in OceanFirst Financial by 8.7% during the second 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. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.