OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ OCFC opened at $18.00 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $18.76 and a 200 day moving average of $18.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. OceanFirst Financial has a twelve month low of $14.29 and a twelve month high of $20.61.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $102.56 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 97.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,388,304 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $41,963,000 after buying an additional 1,181,553 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,182,000. Kestrel Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,587,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,662,653 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $29,213,000 after acquiring an additional 191,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 897,091 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $15,762,000 after purchasing an additional 141,463 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently 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.