UPDATE: Sterne Agee Downgrades OceanFirst to Neutral

According to Sterne Agee, OceanFirst Financial

is downgraded to Neutral. Sterne Agee said that as part of a reassessment of the ratings and price targets in our Northeast bank and thrift universe, it is downgrading the shares of OceanFirst to Neutral from Buy. “We continue to see fundamental fair value of roughly $14 per share which equates to 12.3x our 2013 EPS estimate and 122% of tangible book value. Among our coverage universe of 41 Northeast banks and thrifts, our Buy-rated stocks have an average upside total return potential of 20%. By comparison, OceanFirst currently offers 10.8% total return upside.” OceanFirst Financial closed on Friday at $13.07.