Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.81% and a return on equity of 13.00%.

Bank OZK Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:OZK traded down $0.70 on Tuesday, reaching $47.80. The stock had a trading volume of 3,127,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,492,897. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.63 and a 200 day moving average of $48.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.71 and a beta of 0.90. Bank OZK has a 12-month low of $35.71 and a 12-month high of $53.66.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. National Bankshares set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Bank OZK from $63.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Bank OZK from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Institutional Trading of Bank OZK

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Bank OZK by 34.9% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,437,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,171,000 after buying an additional 1,924,387 shares during the period. Fairholme Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 45.1% during the second quarter. Fairholme Capital Management LLC now owns 916,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,142,000 after acquiring an additional 285,150 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Bank OZK by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 793,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,356,000 after purchasing an additional 213,101 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 23.2% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 684,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,915,000 after buying an additional 129,181 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Bank OZK by 27.9% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 590,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,110,000 after acquiring an additional 128,984 shares in the last quarter. 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.