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Bank OZK (OZK) Rewards Investors With Sequential Dividend Hike
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Rewarding investors with yet another dividend hike, Bank OZK (OZK - Free Report) raised the regular quarterly cash dividend, sequentially, by 1.8% to 28.5 cents per share. It will be paid out on Jul 19 to shareholders of record as of Jul 12, 2021.
This marks the 44th consecutive quarter of dividend hike by the company. Prior to this, Bank OZK had hiked its dividend by 0.9% to 28 cents per share.We believe that such disbursements highlight the company’s operational strength and commitment toward enhancing shareholder wealth.
Considering the last day’s closing price of $41.90, Bank OZK’s dividend yield currently stands at 2.7%. Not only is the yield attractive for income investors but it also represents a steady income stream.
Encouragingly, the Federal Reserve’s stress test results came out last week, in which all 23 participating banks passed. Subsequently, a plethora of banks cheered investors by announcing impressive capital deployment plans. Notably, Morgan Stanley (MS - Free Report) announced plans to double its quarterly dividend to 70 cents per share, effective third-quarter 2021. Similarly, Goldman Sachs (GS - Free Report) and JPMorgan (JPM - Free Report) disclosed their intention to raise the dividend by 60% to $2 per share and 11% to $1 per share, respectively. Further, many banks authorized bigger share repurchase plans.
While such favorable developments make banks attractive to investors, let’s see whether it is worth considering Bank OZK stock based on the dividend income. Deeper research into the bank’s financial performance and fundamentals will help understand the risks and rewards.
Bank OZK boasts a solid balance sheet. As of Mar 31, 2021, the company had total debt worth $1.10 billion and cash and cash equivalents of $2.22 billion. Moreover, the company’s times-interest-earned ratio of 27.4 in first-quarter 2021 reflects sequential improvement. Thus, given a robust liquidity position and decent earnings strength, Bank OZK capital deployment activities are likely to remain sustainable.
In fact, the company’s operations are also likely to lent support. Though revenues declined in 2019, the same witnessed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.3% over the last six years (2015-2020), primarily backed by steady loan growth. The uptrend in revenues continued in the first quarter of 2021. Also, growth trends for deposit balance also remain impressive.
Bank OZK earnings are projected to grow 69.3% in 2021. Also, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2021 earnings has been revised upward over the past 60 days, reflecting that analysts are optimistic regarding its earnings growth potential.
Lastly, as investors are always on the lookout for companies with a track record of consistent and incremental dividend payments to bet their money on, solid dividend payouts are arguably the biggest enticement for investors. Such moves also boost investors’ confidence in the stock.
Shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company have jumped 87.4% over the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 74.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Names “Single Best Pick to Double”
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
You know this company from its past glory days, but few would expect that it’s poised for a monster turnaround. Fresh from a successful repositioning and flush with A-list celeb endorsements, it could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in a little more than 9 months and Nvidia which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Image: Bigstock
Bank OZK (OZK) Rewards Investors With Sequential Dividend Hike
Rewarding investors with yet another dividend hike, Bank OZK (OZK - Free Report) raised the regular quarterly cash dividend, sequentially, by 1.8% to 28.5 cents per share. It will be paid out on Jul 19 to shareholders of record as of Jul 12, 2021.
This marks the 44th consecutive quarter of dividend hike by the company. Prior to this, Bank OZK had hiked its dividend by 0.9% to 28 cents per share.We believe that such disbursements highlight the company’s operational strength and commitment toward enhancing shareholder wealth.
Considering the last day’s closing price of $41.90, Bank OZK’s dividend yield currently stands at 2.7%. Not only is the yield attractive for income investors but it also represents a steady income stream.
Encouragingly, the Federal Reserve’s stress test results came out last week, in which all 23 participating banks passed. Subsequently, a plethora of banks cheered investors by announcing impressive capital deployment plans. Notably, Morgan Stanley (MS - Free Report) announced plans to double its quarterly dividend to 70 cents per share, effective third-quarter 2021. Similarly, Goldman Sachs (GS - Free Report) and JPMorgan (JPM - Free Report) disclosed their intention to raise the dividend by 60% to $2 per share and 11% to $1 per share, respectively. Further, many banks authorized bigger share repurchase plans.
While such favorable developments make banks attractive to investors, let’s see whether it is worth considering Bank OZK stock based on the dividend income. Deeper research into the bank’s financial performance and fundamentals will help understand the risks and rewards.
Bank OZK boasts a solid balance sheet. As of Mar 31, 2021, the company had total debt worth $1.10 billion and cash and cash equivalents of $2.22 billion. Moreover, the company’s times-interest-earned ratio of 27.4 in first-quarter 2021 reflects sequential improvement. Thus, given a robust liquidity position and decent earnings strength, Bank OZK capital deployment activities are likely to remain sustainable.
In fact, the company’s operations are also likely to lent support. Though revenues declined in 2019, the same witnessed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.3% over the last six years (2015-2020), primarily backed by steady loan growth. The uptrend in revenues continued in the first quarter of 2021. Also, growth trends for deposit balance also remain impressive.
Bank OZK earnings are projected to grow 69.3% in 2021. Also, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2021 earnings has been revised upward over the past 60 days, reflecting that analysts are optimistic regarding its earnings growth potential.
Lastly, as investors are always on the lookout for companies with a track record of consistent and incremental dividend payments to bet their money on, solid dividend payouts are arguably the biggest enticement for investors. Such moves also boost investors’ confidence in the stock.
Shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company have jumped 87.4% over the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 74.6%.
Zacks Names “Single Best Pick to Double”
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
You know this company from its past glory days, but few would expect that it’s poised for a monster turnaround. Fresh from a successful repositioning and flush with A-list celeb endorsements, it could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in a little more than 9 months and Nvidia which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>