Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.50.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on OZK. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Bank OZK from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Raymond James downgraded shares of Bank OZK from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank OZK

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Bank OZK during the first quarter valued at about $8,437,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 140,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,387,000 after purchasing an additional 29,993 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Bank OZK during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $873,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Bank OZK by 211.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 61,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,781,000 after buying an additional 41,527 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis acquired a new position in Bank OZK during the first quarter valued at approximately $868,000. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Bank OZK stock opened at $43.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.03. The stock has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Bank OZK has a 12-month low of $36.14 and a 12-month high of $52.36.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.97%.

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.