OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded OceanFirst Financial from “hold” to “buy.” The broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with a consensus price target of $19.75; Piper Sandler raised its target to $19.50 while maintaining a “neutral” rating.
• OceanFirst reported quarterly earnings of $0.48 per share, beating the $0.40 consensus estimate, and revenue of $185.13 million, above the $177.79 million forecast.
• The stock opened at $18.00, and institutional investors own about 71% of its shares. The article also reports a CFO share purchase and an executive vice president share sale.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $19.50 price objective (up from $18.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of OceanFirst Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.75.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of OceanFirst Financial stock opened at $18.00 on Friday. OceanFirst Financial has a 1 year low of $15.60 and a 1 year high of $20.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $185.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.79 million. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 6.16%. Equities research analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at OceanFirst Financial

In other OceanFirst Financial news, EVP Brian Schaeffer sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.91, for a total value of $104,005.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 83,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,570,815.88. The trade was a 6.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Patrick Barrett bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.90 per share, for a total transaction of $89,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 152,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,727,065. This trade represents a 3.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OCFC. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,209,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,494,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,045,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $194,135,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $12,593,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About OceanFirst Financial

OceanFirst Financial Corp. is the holding company for OceanFirst Bank, a community and regional bank headquartered in Toms River, New Jersey. The bank traces its roots to 1902, when it was established as a local savings institution in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. OceanFirst provides personal and business banking services, including deposit accounts, residential mortgages, commercial real estate and business loans, and cash management services. It also offers related financial services through its banking and wealth management operations.

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