Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Stock Has Average Target Price of $54.86

Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.57.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on OZK shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Bank OZK from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “market perform” rating for 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. Wall Street Zen raised Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Bank OZK from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank OZK

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OZK. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 212,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,745,000 after purchasing an additional 37,333 shares in the last quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 10.8% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 8,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Parrish Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 3.4% in the third quarter. Parrish Capital LLC now owns 24,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank OZK during the second quarter worth about $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OZK opened at $44.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.92. Bank OZK has a 1-year low of $42.37 and a 1-year high of $53.39. The company has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a PE ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 0.92.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $430.02 million for 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%. Bank OZK’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 5.82 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.74%.

Bank OZK declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, June 29th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) is a regional financial institution headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. The bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions through a network of branches and digital banking channels.

Its products and services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, treasury management, online and mobile banking, and wealth management. Bank OZK also provides specialized lending through its Real Estate Specialties Group, which focuses on commercial real estate financing for projects in markets across the United States.

The company traces its origins to 1903, when it was founded as a community bank in Jasper, Arkansas.