Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Price Target Raised to $50.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler set a $62.00 price target on Bank OZK in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Bank OZK from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.22.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of Bank OZK stock opened at $44.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $47.06 and its 200-day moving average is $47.41. Bank OZK has a one year low of $35.71 and a one year high of $53.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.03). Bank OZK had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 25.50%.The firm had revenue of $436.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $434.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were given a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is 29.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank OZK

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OZK. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Bank OZK by 34.9% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,437,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,924,387 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bank OZK in the second quarter valued at approximately $68,960,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,556,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,712,000 after buying an additional 546,785 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 767.1% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 566,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,667,000 after buying an additional 501,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairholme Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 45.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fairholme Capital Management LLC now owns 916,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,142,000 after acquiring an additional 285,150 shares during the period. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK, formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks, is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Established in 1903, the bank offers a full suite of banking products and services to both individual and corporate clients. Through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions, Bank OZK has built a diversified lending portfolio and a strong deposit franchise.

The bank’s core operations focus on commercial real estate lending, including acquisition, development and construction financing.