OceanFirst Financial Corp.

OceanFirst Financial Corp. reported a net loss of $3.0 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2026, compared to net income of $16.2 million a year earlier, as the company absorbed $42.8 million in merger-related expenses from its June 1 acquisition of Flushing Financial Corporation. Core earnings, which exclude non-recurring items, rose to $30.5 million, or $0.43 per share, from $17.7 million a year ago, while net interest income climbed to $120.7 million and the net interest margin expanded 12 basis points to 3.05%. The Flushing deal added $8.69 billion in assets, $6.19 billion in loans, and $7.44 billion in deposits, and the company subsequently sold $1.31 billion of multifamily loans from the acquired portfolio at a price of 92.25% to reduce commercial real estate concentration. Total assets ended the quarter at $23.27 billion, and the board declared its 118th consecutive quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share, payable on August 21, 2026.

Piper Sandler assumed coverage of OceanFirst Financial Corp. with a Neutral rating and a price target of $19 on June 12, citing middling profitability as the bank digests its acquisition of Flushing Financial. The merger, completed on June 1, creates a regional bank operating under the OceanFirst brand across 71 retail branches in the Northeast, from Massachusetts to Virginia. Concurrently, the company completed a $225 million strategic investment from affiliates of funds managed by Warburg Pincus LLC.