OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an outperform rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Monday. Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $18.20.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Down 1.6 %

OCFC stock opened at $15.23 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.32 and its 200 day moving average is $15.40. The stock has a market cap of $906.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 1.00. OceanFirst Financial has a 1-year low of $12.01 and a 1-year high of $19.58.

OceanFirst Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.25%. OceanFirst Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.78%.

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. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $176,000. Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $267,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in OceanFirst Financial by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,725 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,796 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,334 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 144,735 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 4,299 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About OceanFirst Financial

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.