Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $51.78 and last traded at $51.76, with a volume of 503204 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OZK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bank OZK from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $46.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.87.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.12. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $412.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $407.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is presently 27.36%.

Institutional Trading of Bank OZK

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OZK. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 1.9% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 13,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Bank OZK by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 15,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 46,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,083,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is 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.