Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $406.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.81 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 15.13% and a net margin of 30.69%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of Bank OZK stock traded up $1.73 on Thursday, reaching $43.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 596,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,559. The company has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 1.27. Bank OZK has a 52-week low of $30.72 and a 52-week high of $52.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. 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 dividend yield of 3.58%. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is 26.58%.

Institutional Trading of Bank OZK

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 94.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 776 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 235.2% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 56.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 896 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on OZK. UBS Group downgraded Bank OZK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Bank OZK from $62.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com cut Bank OZK from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Bank OZK from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Bank OZK from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.14.

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.