OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Cut to “Hold” at DA Davidson

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) was downgraded by equities researchers at DA Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on OCFC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up previously from $21.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research raised OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.60.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

Shares of OCFC stock opened at $18.28 on Tuesday. OceanFirst Financial has a 52 week low of $14.29 and a 52 week high of $20.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 14th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 5.02%. The firm had revenue of $93.08 million during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OCFC. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 132.3% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,325 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,172 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 458.0% during the 2nd 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. EMC Capital Management boosted 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 acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in 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. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about OceanFirst Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting OceanFirst Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The merger creates scale and targeted market expansion — the combination is expected to produce a ~$23 billion regional bank across New Jersey, Long Island and NYC markets and is forecast to drive 2027 EPS accretion of ~16% and improved return metrics. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Warburg Pincus has fully committed $225M at a fixed price to support the deal, which strengthens deal financing and reduces near‑term capital uncertainty. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Transaction structure and timing — all‑stock deal valued at ~$579M (using OCFC’s 12/26 close), Flushing shareholders receive 0.85x OCFC shares, expected close Q2 2026 subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Governance and capital mechanics — post‑close ownership is expected to be ~58% current OCFC shareholders, ~30% Flushing shareholders and ~12% Warburg; Warburg receives additional long‑dated warrants with a $30 trigger. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Potential dilution and shareholder concerns — the equity raise and share issuance will dilute existing OCFC holders and could weigh on near‑term per‑share metrics despite projected long‑term accretion. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor litigation/investigations have been announced — Halper Sadeh LLC and Kahn Swick & Foti are investigating whether the merger and the FFIC valuation/process are fair, increasing execution and reputational risk. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction — the stock is trading lower today amid deal news and investor scrutiny, reflecting concerns over dilution, execution risk and regulatory approval timing. Read More. Read More.

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.