Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Trading 2.7% Higher on Earnings Beat

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) traded up 2.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $42.99 and last traded at $42.96. 121,522 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,166,475 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.82.

The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.07. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 28.54%. The business had revenue of $406.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $396.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 19th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a $0.39 dividend. This is a boost from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Bank OZK from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group downgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $62.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.14.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank OZK

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OZK. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank OZK in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Bank OZK by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank OZK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Bank OZK by 94.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Bank OZK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.53 and a beta of 1.27.

Bank OZK Company Profile

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.