Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Upgraded to Outperform at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $58.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Stephens reduced their price target on Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.75.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Bank OZK stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $51.58. 1,045,251 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,213,358. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Bank OZK has a 12-month low of $35.71 and a 12-month high of $53.64. The business's 50-day moving average is $46.43 and its 200-day moving average is $45.73.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $409.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $403.05 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.46% and a net margin of 25.66%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.20%.

Institutional Trading of Bank OZK

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 176.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 761 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $660,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 31,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,392,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,077,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Bank OZK Company Profile

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.