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Bank OZK (OZK) Announces Dividend Hike: Is It Worth a Look?
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Maintaining its dividend hike streak, Bank OZK (OZK - Free Report) has raised the regular quarterly cash dividend by 0.9% to 28 cents per share. It will be paid out on Apr 19 to shareholders of record as of Apr 12, 2021.
This marks the 43rd consecutive quarter of a dividend hike by the company. Prior to this, it hiked its dividend by 0.91% to 27.75 cents per share.
Considering last day’s closing price of $40.61, Bank OZK’s dividend yield currently stands at 2.76%. Not only is the yield attractive for income investors but it also represents a steady income stream.
Last week, Federal Reserve announced that restrictions imposed on capital distributions to shareholders by major banks such as like JPMorgan (JPM - Free Report) , Bank of America (BAC - Free Report) and Citigroup (C - Free Report) will be lifted after Jun 30, following the completion of this year’s stress test. This along with improving economic conditions makes banks attractive to investors.
However, 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.
Given its strong balance sheet position, the bank is expected to continue expanding through acquisitions. With the help of its expansion strategy, Bank OZK has been able to grow deposit balances considerably in the past few years. Additionally, the company has grown substantially through the de novo branching strategy.
Bank OZK has a solid liquidity position. As of Dec 31, 2020, the company had total debt worth $1.10 billion, up marginally from the third-quarter end. On the same date, its cash and cash equivalents were $2.39 billion. Moreover, the company’s times-interest-earned ratio of 19.5X in fourth-quarter 2020 reflects improvement sequentially. Thus, a robust liquidity position and decent earnings strength are likely to help the company sustain capital-deployment activities.
Bank OZK witnessed earnings growth of 0.6% over the last three-five years. Moreover, in 2021, its earnings are projected to grow 45.6%. 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.
The stock has gained 78.9% over the past six months compared with the industry’s growth of 73%.
Bitcoin, Like the Internet Itself, Could Change Everything
Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities.
Zacks’ has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.
Image: Bigstock
Bank OZK (OZK) Announces Dividend Hike: Is It Worth a Look?
Maintaining its dividend hike streak, Bank OZK (OZK - Free Report) has raised the regular quarterly cash dividend by 0.9% to 28 cents per share. It will be paid out on Apr 19 to shareholders of record as of Apr 12, 2021.
This marks the 43rd consecutive quarter of a dividend hike by the company. Prior to this, it hiked its dividend by 0.91% to 27.75 cents per share.
Considering last day’s closing price of $40.61, Bank OZK’s dividend yield currently stands at 2.76%. Not only is the yield attractive for income investors but it also represents a steady income stream.
Last week, Federal Reserve announced that restrictions imposed on capital distributions to shareholders by major banks such as like JPMorgan (JPM - Free Report) , Bank of America (BAC - Free Report) and Citigroup (C - Free Report) will be lifted after Jun 30, following the completion of this year’s stress test. This along with improving economic conditions makes banks attractive to investors.
However, 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.
Given its strong balance sheet position, the bank is expected to continue expanding through acquisitions. With the help of its expansion strategy, Bank OZK has been able to grow deposit balances considerably in the past few years. Additionally, the company has grown substantially through the de novo branching strategy.
Bank OZK has a solid liquidity position. As of Dec 31, 2020, the company had total debt worth $1.10 billion, up marginally from the third-quarter end. On the same date, its cash and cash equivalents were $2.39 billion. Moreover, the company’s times-interest-earned ratio of 19.5X in fourth-quarter 2020 reflects improvement sequentially. Thus, a robust liquidity position and decent earnings strength are likely to help the company sustain capital-deployment activities.
Bank OZK witnessed earnings growth of 0.6% over the last three-five years. Moreover, in 2021, its earnings are projected to grow 45.6%. 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.
The stock has gained 78.9% over the past six months compared with the industry’s growth of 73%.
Currently, Bank OZK carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Bitcoin, Like the Internet Itself, Could Change Everything
Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities.
Zacks’ has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.
See 3 crypto-related stocks now >>