Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Increases Dividend to $0.39 Per Share

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 1st, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of 0.39 per share on Friday, April 19th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This is an increase from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38.

Bank OZK has raised its dividend by an average of 9.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 28 years. Bank OZK has a payout ratio of 24.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Bank OZK to earn $6.21 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.5%.

Bank OZK Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:OZK traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.25. 922,757 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,212,021. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.78 and a 200 day moving average of $42.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.53 and a beta of 1.27. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $30.72 and a twelve month high of $52.36.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 19th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.04. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 15.13% and a net margin of 30.69%. The company had revenue of $407.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.54 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. Bank OZK's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 5.93 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank OZK

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 1st quarter worth $179,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in Bank OZK in the fourth quarter valued at about $89,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Bank OZK in the first quarter valued at about $73,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in Bank OZK by 18.1% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,127 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Bank OZK by 48.8% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Bank OZK from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Bank OZK from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Raymond James upgraded Bank OZK from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 5th. UBS Group downgraded Bank OZK from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Bank OZK from $62.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.50.

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.