Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Announces Earnings Results

Key Points

• Bank OZK beat earnings expectations, reporting quarterly EPS of $1.50 versus the consensus estimate of $1.43. The bank posted a 24.95% net margin and 11.87% return on equity.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.49 per share from $0.48, representing a 4.2% yield and a 32.4% payout ratio.
• Analysts maintained a mixed outlook, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and a $55.33 target price. Bank OZK also has authorization to repurchase up to $200 million of shares, or approximately 3.4% of its stock.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.07, Zacks reports. Bank OZK had a net margin of 24.95% and a return on equity of 11.87%.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OZK traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.16. The company had a trading volume of 2,113,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,282,251. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 0.92. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $48.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.94. Bank OZK has a one year low of $42.37 and a one year high of $53.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. Bank OZK's payout ratio is 32.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on OZK. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Bank OZK from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.33.

Bank OZK declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, June 29th that authorizes the company to buy back $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank OZK Company Profile

Bank OZK NASDAQ: OZK is a regional financial institution headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. The company provides banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions, including deposit accounts, commercial and consumer loans, mortgage lending, treasury management and online and mobile banking.

Bank OZK also operates specialized lending businesses, including its Real Estate Specialties Group, which provides financing for commercial real estate development and other complex real estate projects.

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