Reviewing Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) and Central Pacific Financial (NYSE:CPF)

Central Pacific Financial (NYSE:CPF) and Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Central Pacific Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Bank OZK pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Central Pacific Financial pays out 49.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank OZK pays out 27.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Bank OZK has increased its dividend for 28 consecutive years. Bank OZK is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility and Risk

Central Pacific Financial has a beta of 1.18, indicating that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank OZK has a beta of 1.18, indicating that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Central Pacific Financial and Bank OZK, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Central Pacific Financial	0	0	1	0	3.00
Bank OZK	2	6	1	0	1.89

Central Pacific Financial currently has a consensus price target of $24.00, indicating a potential downside of 23.83%. Bank OZK has a consensus price target of $49.13, indicating a potential upside of 3.44%. Given Bank OZK’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Bank OZK is more favorable than Central Pacific Financial.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.4% of Central Pacific Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.2% of Bank OZK shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Central Pacific Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Bank OZK shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Central Pacific Financial and Bank OZK”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Central Pacific Financial	$248.92 million	3.43	$58.67 million	$2.10	15.00
Bank OZK	$2.25 billion	2.39	$690.78 million	$6.08	7.81

Bank OZK has higher revenue and earnings than Central Pacific Financial. Bank OZK is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Central Pacific Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Central Pacific Financial and Bank OZK’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Central Pacific Financial	16.10%	11.44%	0.79%
Bank OZK	26.07%	14.15%	1.96%

Summary

Bank OZK beats Central Pacific Financial on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Central Pacific Financial

Central Pacific Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Central Pacific Bank that provides a range of commercial banking products and services to businesses, professionals, and individuals in the United States. It offers various deposit products and services, including checking, savings and time deposits, cash management and digital banking, trust, and retail brokerage services, as well as money market accounts and certificates of deposit. The company also provides various lending activities, such as commercial, commercial and residential mortgage, home equity, and consumer loans; and other products and services comprising debit cards, internet and mobile banking, cash management services, full-service ATMs, safe deposit boxes, international banking services, night depository facilities, foreign exchange, and wire transfers. In addition, it offers wealth management products and services that include non-deposit investment products, annuities, insurance, investment management, asset custody and general consultation, and planning services. The company was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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. It also provides trust and wealth services, such as personal trusts, custodial accounts, investment management accounts, and retirement accounts, as well as corporate trust services, including trustee, paying agent and registered transfer agent services, and other related services. In addition, the company offers treasury management services comprising automated clearing house, wire transfer, transaction reporting, wholesale lockbox, remote deposit capture, automated credit line transfer, reconciliation, positive pay, commercial card, and other services, as well as zero balance and investment sweep accounts. Further, it provides real estate, consumer, small business, indirect recreational vehicle and marine, equipment, agricultural, commercial and industrial, government guaranteed, lines of credit, homebuilder, and affordable housing loans; lender and structured, business aviation, and subscription financing services; and mortgage and other lending products. Additionally, the company offers ATMs; telephone, online, and mobile banking services; credit and debit cards; safe deposit boxes; and other products and services. The company was formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks and changed its name to Bank OZK in July 2018. Bank OZK was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.