Analysts Set Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Price Target at $56.88

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.8750.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on OZK shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank OZK

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ruffer LLP bought a new position in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,137,000. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Bank OZK by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 531,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,475,000 after buying an additional 63,051 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Bank OZK by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,869,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,031,000 after buying an additional 50,985 shares in the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,861,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Bank OZK by 33.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 774,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,530,000 after buying an additional 192,237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Bank OZK Stock Down 2.6%

OZK stock opened at $51.11 on Friday. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $42.37 and a twelve month high of $53.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $51.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.75.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $430.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.42 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 24.95%.The firm’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, June 29th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

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

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.