Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

by · The Markets Daily

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

OZK has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.88.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on OZK

Bank OZK Stock Performance

NASDAQ OZK opened at $51.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $50.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.57. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $42.37 and a 1 year high of $53.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 0.89.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $430.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.42 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 24.95% and a return on equity of 11.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

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

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank OZK

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OZK. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 37.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 11,310 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 14.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 46,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 5,717 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 1.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 60,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Bank OZK by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 349,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,197,000 after purchasing an additional 26,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in Bank OZK by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank OZK Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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