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

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

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised OceanFirst Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Zacks Research raised OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Raymond James Financial cut OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, OceanFirst Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

Shares of OCFC stock opened at $17.95 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.07. OceanFirst Financial has a 52 week low of $14.29 and a 52 week high of $20.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.25.

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

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,193 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 140,481 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 7,359 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 8.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 142,122 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,417,000 after purchasing an additional 11,262 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 107.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 88,353 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,503,000 after buying an additional 45,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the first quarter worth $624,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently 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.