Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Announces Dividend Increase - $0.45 Per Share

Key Points

• Bank OZK announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.45 per share, representing a 2.3% rise from its previous dividend of $0.44.
• The company maintains a payout ratio of 26.5%, indicating its dividend is well-supported by earnings, with analysts predicting an EPS of $6.75 next year.
• Despite the positive dividend news, Bank OZK's stock experienced a slight decline of 0.5%, trading at $50.73 during midday trading.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 1st, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 14th will be given a dividend of 0.45 per share on Tuesday, October 21st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a 2.3% increase from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44.

Bank OZK has a payout ratio of 26.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Bank OZK to earn $6.75 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.5%.

Bank OZK Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of OZK stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.73. 1,040,573 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 861,242. Bank OZK has a fifty-two week low of $35.71 and a fifty-two week high of $53.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $50.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.13.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.07. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The firm had revenue of $428.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $423.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank OZK

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the second quarter valued at $68,960,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 767.1% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 566,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,667,000 after acquiring an additional 501,308 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the 1st quarter worth about $14,197,000. Senvest Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank OZK by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 1,581,582 shares of the company's stock worth $74,429,000 after buying an additional 310,707 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the 1st quarter worth about $12,696,000. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK provides various retail and commercial banking services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers deposit services, including non-interest bearing checking, interest bearing transaction, business sweep, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other accounts, as well as time and reciprocal deposits.

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