Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.57.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Bank OZK from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Bank OZK from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of OZK opened at $41.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.03. Bank OZK has a 12-month low of $34.76 and a 12-month high of $52.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 1.17.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52. Bank OZK had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $416.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $414.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. Bank OZK’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.01 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank OZK

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 291.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,371,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,765,974 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 196.4% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,365,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,981,000 after acquiring an additional 904,782 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 483.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 980,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,195,000 after buying an additional 812,464 shares during the last quarter. Berkley W R Corp bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $24,600,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,028,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,394,000 after acquiring an additional 502,005 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

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.