Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

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

Bank OZK Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of OZK traded up $1.03 on Friday, hitting $44.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 414,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,183,277. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.15. Bank OZK has a fifty-two week low of $30.72 and a fifty-two week high of $52.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 1.27.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 19th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OZK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Bank OZK from $62.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Raymond James raised Bank OZK from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 5th. UBS Group cut Bank OZK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Bank OZK from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank OZK

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OZK. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Bank OZK by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Bank OZK by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Bank OZK by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Bank OZK by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 21,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Bank OZK by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 12,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.