Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.7778.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OZK. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Piper Sandler set a $62.00 price objective on Bank OZK in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Bank OZK from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of OZK stock opened at $48.44 on Tuesday. Bank OZK has a 12 month low of $35.71 and a 12 month high of $53.66. The company has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $436.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $434.68 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.50% and a return on equity of 12.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank OZK

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank OZK by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Bank OZK by 1.4% during the third quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 20.8% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 48,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,254,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 665 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

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.