OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

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

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $17.92 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 $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 1.07. 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 fifty day moving average of $18.77 and a 200-day moving average of $18.25.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.02% and a net margin of 11.77%.The business had revenue of $102.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.56 million. On average, equities analysts predict that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in OceanFirst Financial during the third quarter worth $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in 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. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $155,000. EMC Capital Management raised its position in shares of 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 worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% in 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. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.