OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to Outperform Rating

Key Points

• OceanFirst Financial was upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating, with a target price of $22.00, indicating a potential upside of over 22% from its previous close.
• The stock is currently rated with a consensus of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.00, with analysts divided in their assessments, including one "Strong Buy" and one "Sell" rating.
• As of the last trading session, shares of OceanFirst Financial decreased by 1.3%, and the company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $22.00 price objective on the savings and loans company's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective points to a potential upside of 22.02% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research lowered OceanFirst Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.00.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ OCFC opened at $18.03 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $17.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 1.02. OceanFirst Financial has a 1 year low of $14.29 and a 1 year high of $21.87.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 14th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. OceanFirst Financial had a return on equity of 5.22% and a net margin of 12.89%.The business had revenue of $93.08 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in OceanFirst Financial in the first quarter worth about $13,160,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 1,226.5% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 464,258 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $7,897,000 after acquiring an additional 429,259 shares in the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,182,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,026,099 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $17,454,000 after acquiring an additional 262,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,326,378 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $22,562,000 after acquiring an additional 117,578 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.