NEW YORK, May 23, 2026, 14:03 EDT
OceanFirst Financial Corp shares slipped 0.4% Friday, ending at $18.72 ahead of the U.S. holiday. The New Jersey bank’s stock traded between $18.68 and $18.88 in the final session, but posted a 2.9% gain for the week from a May 15 close at $18.20.
The next regular session isn’t until Tuesday. Nasdaq’s calendar lists regular trading days as Monday to Friday, and U.S. markets are shut on Monday, May 25 for Memorial Day.
OceanFirst and Flushing Financial said this short week brought the real trigger: all necessary regulatory and shareholder approvals are in hand for their merger. The companies expect to complete the deal by June 1, once the last standard conditions are met. Flushing would add its New York-area branches to OceanFirst, a $14.6 billion regional bank with a footprint that stretches from Massachusetts down to Virginia and is headquartered in New Jersey.
Regional-bank stocks barely moved, leaving OceanFirst with little support. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF ticked up roughly 0.2%. Neighbors were mixed—Provident Financial Services slipped 1.1%, Valley National Bancorp added 1.0%, and WSFS Financial was flat.
OceanFirst shares are still moving on the latest earnings. The company posted core diluted EPS of 43 cents for the first quarter. Net interest income was $96.4 million, with net interest margin up to 2.93% from 2.87%. CEO Christopher D. Maher pointed to “strong first quarter results driven by continued loan growth, net interest margin expansion, and expense discipline.” OceanFirst Bank
Chief Financial Officer Pat Barrett told analysts the bank is looking for “positive expansions in net interest income” with a “stable to modest increase in margin” over coming quarters. Barrett also kept the bank’s standalone forecast for loan and deposit growth in the mid- to high-single digits and said net interest margin should move above 3% in the year’s second half. Investing
Investors face a key date before June 1 as the annual meeting lands on May 27 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Items up for vote: 13 board seats, an advisory say on pay, a 2026 stock plan, and keeping Deloitte & Touche as auditor. The proxy card says direct owners can vote online or by phone until 11:59 p.m. ET on May 26; those with shares in a plan had a May 22 cutoff.
But this could still fall apart. The companies cautioned the merger might not close as planned, or might fall through completely. They also warned the deal’s benefits might not show up, and flagged issues like integration, credit quality, deposit costs, rate policy and the tough banking market as risks. For a small regional bank, getting legal sign-off is not the same as a smooth integration.
OCFC isn’t moving on earnings at this point—shares are trading more on merger timing. Friday ended quietly, but now next week looks busier with a market holiday, a shareholder meeting, and that June 1 date on everyone’s calendar. It’s penciled in, not permanent yet.
