Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Trading Up 2.7% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) were up 2.7% on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $42.99 and last traded at $42.96. Approximately 121,522 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 1,166,475 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.82.

The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.07. Bank OZK had a net margin of 30.69% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The firm had revenue of $406.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 3.63%. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OZK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Bank OZK from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Bank OZK from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $62.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Bank OZK from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.14.

Institutional Trading of Bank OZK

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank OZK by 1,508.4% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,313,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,237,000 after acquiring an additional 4,045,472 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 105.3% during the second quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 75,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,037,000 after buying an additional 1,502,923 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Bank OZK by 10.7% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,791,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,476,000 after buying an additional 1,235,144 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Bank OZK during the fourth quarter worth about $46,878,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Bank OZK by 204.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,409,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,460,000 after buying an additional 946,106 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.15.

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.