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

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

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

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:OCFC opened at $17.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. OceanFirst Financial has a 1-year low of $14.29 and a 1-year high of $20.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.87 and a 200 day moving average of $18.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.07.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 14th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 5.02%. The business had revenue of $93.08 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.02%.

Institutional Trading of OceanFirst Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in OceanFirst Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $233,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,193 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 5.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 7,359 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in OceanFirst Financial by 8.6% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 11,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in OceanFirst Financial by 107.0% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 88,353 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 45,673 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

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.