OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on OCFC. DA Davidson lowered OceanFirst Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised OceanFirst Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.60.

OceanFirst Financial Price Performance

Shares of OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $19.09 on Tuesday. 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 has a 52-week low of $14.29 and a 52-week high of $20.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.79 and a 200-day moving average of $18.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 458.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,526 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 6,998 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in OceanFirst Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $155,000. EMC Capital Management boosted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 8.7% in the second 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 grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.