Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $45.34, but opened at $47.97. Bank OZK shares last traded at $48.35, with a volume of 690,331 shares trading hands.

The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.12. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 26.07%. The firm had revenue of $412.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $407.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This is a boost from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is currently 27.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on OZK shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Bank OZK from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.50.

Institutional Trading of Bank OZK

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OZK. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Bank OZK during the 4th quarter worth about $307,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the fourth quarter worth approximately $227,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital bought a new stake in Bank OZK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Bank OZK by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 5,302 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Bank OZK Trading Up 9.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.20.

Bank OZK Company Profile

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.