Street Calls of the Week
Investing.com - Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) from Market Perform to Outperform and raised its price target to $22.00 from $20.00.
The upgrade reflects KBW’s expectation that OceanFirst’s earnings will inflect higher over the next couple of years. The firm anticipates this growth will be driven by normalization in credit, net interest margin, and expenses. The bank currently offers a 4.44% dividend yield and has maintained dividend payments for 29 consecutive years, according to InvestingPro data.
KBW also cited incremental contributions from management’s strategic investments, including Premier Bank and commercial and industrial banking hires, as factors supporting the improved outlook.
OceanFirst shares have faced pressure in recent years due to commercial real estate credit concerns and deteriorating returns related to net interest margin compression, according to KBW’s analysis.
The research firm views OceanFirst’s discounted multiple at 0.95 times tangible book value as "very attractive" and believes the outlook for a normalizing yield curve should reverse negative trends while expense growth moderates.
In other recent news, OceanFirst Financial Corp reported its second-quarter 2025 earnings, which did not meet market expectations. The company announced an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.28, falling short of the anticipated $0.33, resulting in a 15.15% negative surprise. Additionally, OceanFirst’s revenue came in at $94 million, missing the forecasted $100.76 million by 6.71%. These results have drawn attention from investors and analysts alike. The shortfall in both EPS and revenue highlights challenges the company faced during this period. Market analysts are closely monitoring these developments for future evaluations. These recent financial results have become a focal point for discussions on OceanFirst’s performance.
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