OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Stock Rating Reaffirmed as “Neutral” by Piper Sandler

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.50 price objective on the savings and loans company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $18.00. Piper Sandler‘s price target points to a potential upside of 7.61% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat, OceanFirst Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.75.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

OCFC opened at $18.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $17.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.47. OceanFirst Financial has a 1 year low of $15.60 and a 1 year high of $20.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08 and a beta of 1.01. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The savings and loans company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.08. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 6.16%. The company had revenue of $185.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.79 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at OceanFirst Financial

In related news, EVP Brian Schaeffer sold 5,500 shares of OceanFirst Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.91, for a total value of $104,005.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,570,815.88. This trade represents a 6.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Nicos Katsoulis purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.83 per share, with a total value of $178,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 41,096 shares in the company, valued at $732,741.68. This represents a 32.16% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of OceanFirst Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OCFC. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,209,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,494,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,045,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,593,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $194,135,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

OceanFirst Financial Company Profile

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.