StockNews.com Lowers Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) to Sell

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on OZK. Citigroup cut Bank OZK from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $57.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Bank OZK from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Bank OZK from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Bank OZK from $47.00 to $41.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.14.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of OZK opened at $43.76 on Wednesday. Bank OZK has a 12 month low of $34.76 and a 12 month high of $52.36. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.33 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.07. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 14.84% and a net margin of 28.54%. The company had revenue of $406.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $396.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank OZK

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Bank OZK in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 423.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 303.9% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.