Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Bank OZK has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from eight research firms, with six analysts recommending a hold and two issuing buy ratings, and an average 1-year price target of $52.8750.
• The bank recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.44, signaling a positive return for investors, and the current yield stands at 3.7%.
• In its latest earnings report, Bank OZK reported $1.58 EPS, exceeding expectations and indicating a strong financial performance with revenue of $428.04 million.

Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $52.8750.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of OZK stock opened at $47.97 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.49. The company has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 0.86. Bank OZK has a 12-month low of $35.71 and a 12-month high of $53.64.

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

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. This is an increase from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank OZK

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of OZK. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,102,657 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149,880 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Bank OZK by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,350,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,017,000 after purchasing an additional 220,214 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Bank OZK by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,945,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,162,000 after purchasing an additional 686,775 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,811,354 shares of the company's stock worth $125,190,000 after purchasing an additional 314,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 10.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,405,292 shares of the company's stock worth $104,510,000 after buying an additional 228,295 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company's stock.

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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