Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $37.30 and last traded at $37.36, with a volume of 7164 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $38.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens upped their price objective on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group started coverage on Bank OZK in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank OZK has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.38.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.28 and a 200 day moving average of $46.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.05.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $412.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $407.19 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 25.83%. Bank OZK’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is presently 28.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank OZK

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OZK. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Bank OZK by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Bank OZK by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Bank OZK by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 46,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,085,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 13,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Bank OZK by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

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.