Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Monday, August 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank OZK currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.88.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of OZK opened at $47.88 on Friday. Bank OZK has a 12 month low of $42.37 and a 12 month high of $53.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.37 and its 200-day moving average is $48.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

Bank OZK announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, June 29th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bank OZK

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,809,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 2nd quarter worth $63,410,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Bank OZK by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 929,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,673,000 after buying an additional 273,543 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the 2nd quarter valued at $14,038,000. Finally, Ranger Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the 2nd quarter worth $13,240,000. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Bank OZK News

Here are the key news stories impacting Bank OZK this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its Q3 2026 EPS estimate to $1.44 from $1.43, FY2026 EPS to $5.82 from $5.81, Q3 2027 EPS to $1.61 from $1.54, and Q1 2028 EPS to $1.73 from $1.67. These increases suggest somewhat better expected earnings in several periods.
• Neutral Sentiment: The $5.82 FY2026 forecast remains close to the broader consensus estimate of $5.83. However, the estimate changes are analyst revisions rather than new company guidance, so their immediate effect may be limited.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks added Bank OZK to its Rank #5 “Strong Sell” list, a prominent negative signal that may weigh on investor sentiment. New Strong Sell Stocks for September 17th
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks lowered its estimates for Q1 2027 EPS to $1.44 from $1.47, Q2 2027 EPS to $1.48 from $1.56, Q4 2027 EPS to $1.55 from $1.60, FY2027 EPS to $6.09 from $6.18, Q2 2028 EPS to $1.74 from $2.01, and FY2028 EPS to $7.32 from $7.78. The broad downward revisions point to weaker expected earnings growth beyond 2026.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK is a regional financial institution headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. The company provides banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions through a network of banking offices concentrated in the Southeastern United States and select markets, including New York and California.

Its products and services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer lending, commercial and industrial financing, treasury management and other business banking solutions.