Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $58.75.

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A number of research firms have recently issued reports on OZK. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Stephens upgraded shares of Bank OZK from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Bank OZK from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, November 7th.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Bank OZK

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Bank OZK by 1.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,406,933 shares of the company's stock worth $207,390,000 after purchasing an additional 56,713 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,790,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,332,000 after buying an additional 9,540 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,743,655 shares of the company's stock worth $139,872,000 after buying an additional 112,048 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,818,447 shares of the company's stock worth $92,704,000 after buying an additional 12,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Senvest Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bank OZK by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 1,581,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,429,000 after buying an additional 310,707 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

NASDAQ OZK opened at $44.98 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $49.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.36. Bank OZK has a 1-year low of $35.71 and a 1-year high of $53.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $449.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $447.93 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.00% and a net margin of 25.81%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 14th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is 29.03%.

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.

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