Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.38.

Bank OZK Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:OZK opened at $51.41 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.68 and a 200 day moving average of $48.54. The company has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of 8.50 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Bank OZK has a 12-month low of $42.37 and a 12-month high of $53.66.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 24.95%.The business had revenue of $430.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. Bank OZK’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is currently 31.74%.

Bank OZK declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, June 29th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. BOKF NA purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 100.5% in the 4th quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 111.2% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bank OZK

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.