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Bank OZK OZK hiked its quarterly cash dividend by 2.4% to 43 cents per share. The dividend will be paid out on April 21, 2025, to shareholders of record as of April 14.
The bank has hiked its quarterly cash dividend in each of the last 59 quarters. Before the recent hike, the bank increased its dividend by 2.4% to 42 cents per share in January 2025. It has a dividend payout ratio of 27%.
Based on its closing price of $43.38 as of April 1, OZK’s forward dividend yield, considering the increased payout, is 4%.
Given the bank’s consistent record of dividend hikes, it has been a part of the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats index since January 2018. The index comprises members of the S&P Composite 1500 who have raised their dividends annually for at least 20 years and meet minimum float-adjusted market capitalization and liquidity criteria.
Bank OZK’s Other Capital Distribution Activities
Bank OZK has an ongoing repurchase program, announced in July 2024, which authorizes 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 Dec. 31, 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 Dec. 31, 2024, the company had total debt (comprising other borrowings and accrued interest payable and other liabilities) of $893.5 million and cash and cash equivalents of $2.8 billion. Further, net loans were $29.5 billion and total deposits were $31 billion.
Further, at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, its common equity Tier-1 capital ratio of 11.34% and the total capital ratio of 14.49% were well above regulatory requirements.
Given the solid 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 3.4% compared with the industry’s 2.6% growth in the past six months.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
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, BankUnited, Inc. BKU hiked its quarterly dividend. The company announced a quarterly cash dividend of 31 cents per share, marking an increase of 6.8% from the prior payout. This dividend will be paid out on April 30, 2025, to shareholders of record as of April 11.
Prior to this, BKU hiked its dividend 7.4% to 29 cents per share in February 2024 and has increased its dividend payout five times in the past five years.
Similarly, Independent Bank Corp.’s INDB board of directors announced a dividend of 59 cents per share. This reflected a 3.5% hike from the previous payout. The dividend will be paid out on April 7, 2025, to shareholders of record as of March 31.
INDB increased its dividend payout six times in the past five years. It last increased the dividend by 3.6% to 57 cents per share in March 2024.