OceanFirst Financial (OCFC) reported $95.56 million in revenue for the quarter ended December 2024, representing a year-over-year decline of 4.1%. EPS of $0.38 for the same period compares to $0.45 a year ago.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $95.7 million, representing a surprise of -0.15%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +5.56%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $0.36.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how OceanFirst performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Efficiency Ratio: 67.9% versus the three-analyst average estimate of 67.1%.
• Net Interest Margin: 2.7% compared to the 2.7% average estimate based on three analysts.
• Average Balance - Total interest-earning assets: $12.33 billion versus $12.32 billion estimated by two analysts on average.
• Net Interest Income: $83.33 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $82.91 million.
• Total Non-Interest Income: $12.23 million compared to the $12.45 million average estimate based on three analysts.
• Income from bank owned life insurance: $2.54 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $1.91 million.
• Bankcard services revenue: $1.60 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $1.82 million.
• Fees and service charges: $6.21 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $6.05 million.

View all Key Company Metrics for OceanFirst here>>>

Shares of OceanFirst have returned +5.7% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.7% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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