Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Upgraded to “Equal Weight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $48.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $40.00.

OZK has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial lowered 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Bank OZK from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.00.

Bank OZK Stock Up 1.6 %

Bank OZK stock opened at $50.54 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $46.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.31. The company has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Bank OZK has a 1-year low of $37.43 and a 1-year high of $51.50.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $412.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $407.19 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the fourth quarter valued at $307,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 5,302 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.