Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Given New $52.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $50.00 to $52.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Bank OZK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group started coverage on Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.44.

Bank OZK Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:OZK opened at $49.77 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.16 and a 200-day moving average of $47.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.10 and a beta of 0.89. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $42.37 and a twelve month high of $53.66.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). Bank OZK had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 25.27%.The firm had revenue of $424.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $422.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a boost from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.62%.

Bank OZK declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank OZK

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. BOKF NA acquired a new stake in Bank OZK during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in Bank OZK by 100.5% in the 4th quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 111.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Bank OZK Company Profile

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.