OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Upgraded by Raymond James to “Strong-Buy” Rating

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Raymond James from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on OCFC. Piper Sandler set a $17.00 price target on OceanFirst Financial and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $19.50 to $21.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.42.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ OCFC opened at $17.79 on Thursday. OceanFirst Financial has a 1 year low of $14.03 and a 1 year high of $21.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.52 and its 200 day moving average is $17.69.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The savings and loans company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 6.08% and a net margin of 15.28%. The firm had revenue of $96.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.79 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at OceanFirst Financial

In related news, Director Joseph M. Jr. Murphy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.03, for a total value of $30,045.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 177,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,553,662.51. This trade represents a 0.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OCFC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 587.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,082,855 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $20,130,000 after acquiring an additional 925,283 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in OceanFirst Financial by 43.7% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 733,441 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $13,635,000 after buying an additional 223,203 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 20.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 956,320 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $15,196,000 after buying an additional 164,626 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in OceanFirst Financial by 24.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 807,280 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $12,828,000 after acquiring an additional 158,590 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 917,085 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $17,049,000 after acquiring an additional 89,099 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

OceanFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank N.A. that provides community banking services to retail and commercial customers. It accepts money market accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, non-interest-bearing accounts, and time deposits, that includes brokered deposits to retail, government, and business customers.