Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Bank OZK, with three sells, five holds and three buys among 11 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $56.88.
• Bank OZK reported quarterly EPS of $1.49, slightly exceeding estimates, while revenue of $430.02 million fell short of consensus. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $5.83.
• The bank increased its quarterly dividend to $0.48 per share, producing a 3.9% yield, and authorized a $200 million share-repurchase plan covering up to 3.4% of outstanding shares.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.8750.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on OZK. Zacks Research cut shares of Bank OZK from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank OZK from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Bank OZK from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd.

Bank OZK Stock Down 2.3%

OZK stock opened at $49.26 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $42.37 and a twelve month high of $53.41. The company's 50 day moving average is $50.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.78. The stock has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 0.88.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $430.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.42 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 24.95% and a return on equity of 11.87%. The company's revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. Research analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 13th. Bank OZK's payout ratio is 31.74%.

Bank OZK declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, June 29th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bank OZK

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BOKF NA acquired a new position in Bank OZK in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 111.2% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Bank OZK by 1,307.5% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 746 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK, formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks, is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Established in 1903, the bank offers a full suite of banking products and services to both individual and corporate clients. Through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions, Bank OZK has built a diversified lending portfolio and a strong deposit franchise.

The bank's core operations focus on commercial real estate lending, including acquisition, development and construction financing.

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