Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on OZK. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group began coverage on Bank OZK in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Bank OZK Stock Up 0.1%

OZK stock opened at $50.38 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. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $42.37 and a 1 year high of $53.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.31. The firm has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 8.33 and a beta of 0.89.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Bank OZK had a net margin of 24.95% and a return on equity of 11.87%. The firm had revenue of $430.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $436.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. Bank OZK’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, June 29th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 13th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank OZK

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OZK. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,437,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,924,387 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,625,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,045,000 after purchasing an additional 38,592 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,556,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,712,000 after purchasing an additional 546,785 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Bank OZK by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,554,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,576,000 after purchasing an additional 73,920 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Bank OZK by 4.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,036,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,327,000 after purchasing an additional 134,490 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

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.