Bank OZK Raises Dividend by 2.4% to Reward Shareholders

Bank OZK OZK hiked its quarterly cash dividend by 2.4% to 42 cents per share. The dividend will be paid out on Jan. 21, 2025, to shareholders of record as of Jan. 14.

The bank has hiked its quarterly cash dividend in each of the last 58 quarters. Before the recent hike, the bank increased its dividend by 2.5% to 41 cents per share in October 2024. It has a dividend payout ratio of 26%.

Based on its closing price of $43.83 as of Jan. 2, OZK’s forward dividend yield, considering the increased payout, is 3.8%.

Bank OZK’s Other Capital Distribution Activities

Bank OZK has an ongoing repurchase program, which was announced in July 2024, authorizing it to buy back up to $200 million worth of shares. The program is set to expire on July 1, 2025. The previous plan, announced in November 2022, authorized the buyback of up to $300 million worth of shares and expired on Nov. 9, 2023. As of Sept. 30, 2024, $199.5 million worth of shares remained available under the existing authorization.

Before that, OZK had announced a $650 million repurchase plan in October 2021, which expired in November 2022.

Our Take on OZK Stock

OZK enjoys a decent balance sheet position. As of Sept. 30, 2024, the company had total debt (comprising other borrowings, and accrued interest payable and other liabilities) of $632.1 million and cash and cash equivalents of $2.7 billion. Further, net loans were $28.8 billion and total deposits were $30.6 billion.

Further, at the end of the third quarter of 2024, its common equity Tier-1 capital ratio of 11.15% and the total capital ratio of 14.34% were well above regulatory requirements.

Given the decent capital and liquidity positions, Bank OZK is expected to sustain its current capital distribution activities and enhance shareholder value.

Shares of Bank OZK have risen 7.8% compared with the industry’s 20% growth in the past six months.

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OZK currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Banks That Announced Dividend Hike

Last month, Preferred Bank PFBC announced an increase in its quarterly cash dividend. The company has raised its cash dividend by 7.1% from the prior payout to 75 cents per share. The dividend is payable on Jan. 23, 2025, to shareholders of record on Jan. 9, 2025.

Prior to this, in December 2023, PFBC increased its dividend by 27.3% to 70 cents per share from its previous payout of 55 cents per share.

Similarly, Ameris Bancorp ABCB hiked its quarterly cash dividend by 33.3% to 20 cents per share. The dividend will be paid out on Jan. 6, 2025, to shareholders of record as of Dec. 31.

This is ABCB’s first dividend hike in the last five years. Before the recent hike, the bank increased its dividend by 50% to 15 cents per share in September 2019. It has a dividend payout ratio of 13%.

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