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Bank of the Ozarks Hikes Dividend by 3.03%: Time to Buy?
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Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. recently announced a 3.03% hike in its regular quarterly cash dividend. The new dividend of 17 cents per share will be paid on Jan 27, 2017, to shareholders on record as of Jan 20.
Notably, the company has been consistently increasing its quarterly dividends for more than six years now. In Oct 2016, it hiked its dividend for the 25th consecutive quarter. Given the strong capital and liquidity position, Bank of the Ozarks should continue to enhance shareholders’ value.
Apart from this, the company has been meaningfully growing through de novo branching strategy as well as inorganically. In Jul 2016, it completed the acquisition of Community & Southern Holdings Inc. and C1 Financial, Inc., which are expected to be accretive to its earnings in the next few quarters.
Further, shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock have surged 31.3% in the last three months, outperforming the 28.7% gain for the Zacks categorized Southeast Banks industry.
Let’s check out the company’s fundamentals and growth prospects.
Earnings Strength: In the past 3–5 years, Bank of the Ozarks witnessed earnings per share (EPS) growth of 39.6%. Also, the company’s earnings are projected to grow by nearly 19% in 2017.
In addition, its long-term (3–5 years) estimated EPS growth rate of 12% (compared with the industry growth rate of 9.6%) promises rewards for investors.
Revenue Growth: Bank of the Ozarks’ revenues have grown at a CAGR of 25.9% over the past five years (2011–2015). Moreover, revenues are projected to grow at a rate of 33% in 2017.
Leverage: Bank of the Ozarks has a debt/equity ratio of 0.14 compared with the industry average of 0.34. This indicates a lower debt burden relative to the industry.
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future prospects of this stock.
Other Stocks Worth a Look
Some other favorably ranked stocks in the finance space worth considering include Carolina Financial Corporation , Farmers Capital Bank Corporation and S&T Bancorp, Inc. (STBA - Free Report) .
Carolina Financial has witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 1.3% for 2016, over the past 60 days. Also, its share price is up 67.2% in the last one year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Farmers Capital also sports a Zacks Rank #1. It has witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 0.4% for 2016, over the past 60 days. Its share price is up 58.3% in the last one year.
S&T Bancorp also sports a Zacks Rank #1. For 2016, its earnings estimates have been revised upward by nearly 0.5%, over the past 60 days. Its share price is up 31.2% in the last one year.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2017?
Who wouldn't? As of early December, the 2016 Top 10 produced 5 double-digit winners including oil and natural gas giant Pioneer Natural Resources which racked up a stellar +50% gain. The new list is painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Be among the very first to see it>>.
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Bank of the Ozarks Hikes Dividend by 3.03%: Time to Buy?
Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. recently announced a 3.03% hike in its regular quarterly cash dividend. The new dividend of 17 cents per share will be paid on Jan 27, 2017, to shareholders on record as of Jan 20.
Notably, the company has been consistently increasing its quarterly dividends for more than six years now. In Oct 2016, it hiked its dividend for the 25th consecutive quarter. Given the strong capital and liquidity position, Bank of the Ozarks should continue to enhance shareholders’ value.
Apart from this, the company has been meaningfully growing through de novo branching strategy as well as inorganically. In Jul 2016, it completed the acquisition of Community & Southern Holdings Inc. and C1 Financial, Inc., which are expected to be accretive to its earnings in the next few quarters.
Further, shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock have surged 31.3% in the last three months, outperforming the 28.7% gain for the Zacks categorized Southeast Banks industry.
Let’s check out the company’s fundamentals and growth prospects.
Earnings Strength: In the past 3–5 years, Bank of the Ozarks witnessed earnings per share (EPS) growth of 39.6%. Also, the company’s earnings are projected to grow by nearly 19% in 2017.
In addition, its long-term (3–5 years) estimated EPS growth rate of 12% (compared with the industry growth rate of 9.6%) promises rewards for investors.
Revenue Growth: Bank of the Ozarks’ revenues have grown at a CAGR of 25.9% over the past five years (2011–2015). Moreover, revenues are projected to grow at a rate of 33% in 2017.
Leverage: Bank of the Ozarks has a debt/equity ratio of 0.14 compared with the industry average of 0.34. This indicates a lower debt burden relative to the industry.
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future prospects of this stock.
Other Stocks Worth a Look
Some other favorably ranked stocks in the finance space worth considering include Carolina Financial Corporation , Farmers Capital Bank Corporation and S&T Bancorp, Inc. (STBA - Free Report) .
Carolina Financial has witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 1.3% for 2016, over the past 60 days. Also, its share price is up 67.2% in the last one year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Farmers Capital also sports a Zacks Rank #1. It has witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 0.4% for 2016, over the past 60 days. Its share price is up 58.3% in the last one year.
S&T Bancorp also sports a Zacks Rank #1. For 2016, its earnings estimates have been revised upward by nearly 0.5%, over the past 60 days. Its share price is up 31.2% in the last one year.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2017?
Who wouldn't? As of early December, the 2016 Top 10 produced 5 double-digit winners including oil and natural gas giant Pioneer Natural Resources which racked up a stellar +50% gain. The new list is painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Be among the very first to see it>>.