Analysts Set Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Price Target at $56.78

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.7778.

Several research firms recently commented on OZK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Tuesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank OZK

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OZK. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Bank OZK by 37.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,792,000 after buying an additional 11,310 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 14.0% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Bank OZK by 1.8% in the 1st 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 position in Bank OZK by 8.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 349,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,197,000 after purchasing an additional 26,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Bank OZK by 11.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Bank OZK Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:OZK opened at $47.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.71 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $47.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.53. Bank OZK has a 52 week low of $35.71 and a 52 week high of $53.66.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.03). Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.50% and a return on equity of 12.65%. The business had revenue of $436.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $434.68 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.82%.

About Bank OZK

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.