Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Receives $50.38 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.38.

OZK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bank OZK from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

NASDAQ OZK opened at $38.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $47.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.08. Bank OZK has a fifty-two week low of $35.80 and a fifty-two week high of $53.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.12. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The business had revenue of $412.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $407.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is presently 28.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Bank OZK during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,114,000. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,102,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149,880 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 32.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,223,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,198 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Bank OZK by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,945,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,162,000 after buying an additional 686,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Bank OZK by 7.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,106,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,526,000 after buying an additional 485,172 shares during the period. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.