Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Given New $51.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $48.00 to $51.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on OZK. StockNews.com upgraded Bank OZK from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Bank OZK from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Bank OZK from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Bank OZK from a buy rating to a sell rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $57.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $46.71.

Bank OZK Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of OZK opened at $41.33 on Monday. Bank OZK has a 52-week low of $34.76 and a 52-week high of $52.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.67. The company has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.20.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.52. The firm had revenue of $416.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $414.39 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 14.50%. Bank OZK’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 12th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 12th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank OZK

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 48.0% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,015,000 after purchasing an additional 15,936 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in Bank OZK by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 28,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 9,006 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,642,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,334,000 after buying an additional 295,298 shares during the period. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank OZK by 8.9% during the second quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 28,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,176,000 after buying an additional 2,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in shares of Bank OZK by 11.0% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 102,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,191,000 after buying an additional 10,146 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.