Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) was downgraded by Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $56.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.05% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Monday, August 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.88.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of Bank OZK stock opened at $50.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Bank OZK has a 1-year low of $42.37 and a 1-year high of $53.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $50.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.78. The company has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.88.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $430.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $436.42 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 24.95%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BOKF NA acquired a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 111.2% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.