Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Sets New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $48.00 to $40.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Bank OZK traded as low as $35.71 and last traded at $40.46, with a volume of 3003885 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $37.58.

OZK has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Bank OZK in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued 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, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research 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.com, Bank OZK has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank OZK

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Bank OZK by 1.8% during the fourth 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 boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,575 shares of the company's stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Bank OZK by 1.9% in the third 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. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Bank OZK Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $45.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.12. The business 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 last year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. This is a positive change from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Bank OZK's payout ratio is 28.01%.

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.