Bank OZK (OZK) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.46 on January 20th

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be given a dividend of 0.46 per share on Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. This is a 2.2% increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

Bank OZK has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 29 years. Bank OZK has a dividend payout ratio of 28.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Bank OZK to earn $6.75 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.3%.

Bank OZK Trading Up 0.5%

Bank OZK stock opened at $48.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Bank OZK has a 12 month low of $35.71 and a 12 month high of $53.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.80. The stock has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 0.90.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $449.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.93 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.81% and a return on equity of 13.00%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OZK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Bank OZK from $61.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Bank OZK from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Bank OZK from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $63.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “sell” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Monday, January 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.00.

Bank OZK Company Profile

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.