OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by DA Davidson

DA Davidson downgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Zacks Research upgraded OceanFirst Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of OceanFirst Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, OceanFirst Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.60.

OceanFirst Financial Trading Down 6.7%

Shares of OCFC opened at $18.28 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.10. OceanFirst Financial has a 1-year low of $14.29 and a 1-year high of $20.61.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 14th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $93.08 million during the quarter. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 5.02%. Analysts expect that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

OceanFirst Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. OceanFirst Financial’s payout ratio is presently 62.02%.

Institutional Trading of OceanFirst Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 132.3% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,325 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 4,172 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in OceanFirst Financial by 458.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,526 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 6,998 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 8.7% during the second quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,952 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 7.0% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 10,285 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stores Impacting OceanFirst Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting OceanFirst Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merger creates scale and franchise expansion — OceanFirst agreed to combine with Flushing Financial in an all‑stock deal that would create a roughly $23 billion regional bank, expanding OceanFirst’s footprint in New Jersey, Long Island and New York which could drive long‑term revenue and deposit growth. GlobeNewswire: Merger & Investment
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic capital commitment — Warburg Pincus has committed $225M to the transaction at a fixed price, reducing financing risk for the deal and providing liquidity to support integration and growth. GlobeNewswire: Warburg Investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Projected financial benefits are material but forward‑looking — the companies forecast ~16% EPS accretion by 2027 and improved returns (ROATCE ~13%), but these are estimates that depend on execution, regulatory approvals and integration. QuiverQuant: Deal Summary & Projections
• Negative Sentiment: Dilution and complex deal mechanics — the deal includes a ~9.7M share issuance, non‑voting common‑equivalent shares and long‑dated warrants that could significantly dilute existing OCFC holders and raise concern about near‑term EPS and book value dilution. GlobeNewswire: Transaction Terms & Warrants
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade — DA Davidson cut OCFC from “strong‑buy” to “hold”, which can pressure sentiment and reduce short‑term buy interest. Zacks / TickerReport: DA Davidson Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder / law‑firm scrutiny and potential litigation — Halper Sadeh and Kahn Swick & Foti have opened investigations into whether the merger and related pricing/processes are fair to shareholders, adding legal and regulatory uncertainty. BusinessWire: Halper Sadeh Investigation BusinessWire: KSF Investigation (FFIC)
• Negative Sentiment: Immediate market reaction — several market reports cite shares trading notably lower after the deal announcement, reflecting investor concern over dilution, execution risk and near‑term uncertainty. Benzinga: Shares Trading Lower

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.