Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.3333.

OZK has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank OZK

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OZK. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,437,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,924,387 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Bank OZK during the 4th quarter worth $59,809,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Bank OZK by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,556,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,712,000 after buying an additional 546,785 shares during the last quarter. Fairholme Capital Management LLC increased its position in Bank OZK by 45.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fairholme Capital Management LLC now owns 916,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,142,000 after buying an additional 285,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Bank OZK by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 929,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,673,000 after buying an additional 273,543 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Trading Down 5.7%

Shares of NASDAQ OZK opened at $49.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $49.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.90. Bank OZK has a fifty-two week low of $42.37 and a fifty-two week high of $53.66. The company has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 0.89.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.27% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The business had revenue of $424.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $422.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. Bank OZK’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, June 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. 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. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.62%.

Bank OZK Company Profile

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.