Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. Bank OZK had a net margin of 28.54% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The firm had revenue of $406.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Bank OZK stock traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,646,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,192,750. The firm has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.53 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $30.72 and a twelve month high of $52.36.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank OZK

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 94.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 56.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

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.