Wells Fargo & Company Initiates Coverage on Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Key Points

• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Bank OZK with an “equal weight” rating and a $56 price target, implying approximately 9.2% upside from the stock’s $51.30 trading price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly neutral: Bank OZK has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $56.88, based on three Buy, six Hold, and one Sell rating.
• The bank exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.49 versus the $1.48 consensus estimate, and authorized a $200 million share repurchase program covering up to 3.4% of outstanding shares.

Investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) in a report released on Monday. The brokerage set an "equal weight" rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.17% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bank OZK from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank OZK from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.88.

Bank OZK Price Performance

NASDAQ:OZK traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $51.30. 31,931 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,257,968. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $42.37 and a 1 year high of $53.66. The company has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.54.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $430.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, June 29th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OZK. Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new stake in Bank OZK in the second quarter worth $1,055,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 2nd quarter worth $229,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 2nd quarter worth $14,038,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 2nd quarter worth $63,410,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,150 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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