Raymond James Has Lowered Expectations for OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) Stock Price

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at Raymond James from $24.00 to $21.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “strong-buy” rating on the savings and loans company’s stock. Raymond James’ target price points to a potential upside of 23.20% from the stock’s current price.

OCFC has been the topic of several other reports. Hovde Group lowered their target price on OceanFirst Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of OceanFirst Financial in a report on Friday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

OceanFirst Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:OCFC traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $17.05. 39,093 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 288,169. OceanFirst Financial has a 1-year low of $14.03 and a 1-year high of $21.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $998.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.68 and a 200 day moving average of $18.45.

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. OceanFirst Financial had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 5.75%. Research analysts anticipate that OceanFirst Financial will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OceanFirst Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in OceanFirst Financial by 1,036.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,466 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 807.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of OceanFirst Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of OceanFirst Financial by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,055 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in OceanFirst Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. 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.