Bank OZK (OZK) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
OZK is Bank OZK, a Little Rock, Arkansas regional bank best known as one of the nation's most prolific commercial real estate construction lenders. Investing in it is a bet on a high-margin, tightly-run lender whose fortunes are unusually concentrated in CRE credit quality and interest rates.
OZK stock price
As of 2026-07-10, Bank OZK (OZK) last closed at $50.67, down 1.8% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $42.64 and $53.14.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Bank OZK's investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does Bank OZK (OZK) do?
Bank OZK is the holding company for a regional bank founded in Ozark, Arkansas and now headquartered in Little Rock, built up since 1979 under long-time chairman and CEO George Gleason. It takes deposits and makes loans across roughly ten states, but its signature business is its Real Estate Specialties Group (RESG), which finances large ground-up construction projects such as luxury apartments, condo towers, office complexes, and mixed-use developments in major US cities. Real estate makes up around 75 percent of its loan book, which makes OZK far more concentrated in commercial real estate (CRE) than a typical diversified regional bank. As of March 2026 it held about $41.7 billion in total assets, roughly $33.0 billion in loans, and about $33.8 billion in deposits.
The investment picture is a high-margin lender trading at a low valuation because of that concentration. OZK consistently earns an industry-leading net interest margin (about 4.20 percent in Q1 2026, roughly 90 basis points above peers) and a strong return on equity, and it has raised its dividend every quarter for many years. The market discounts the stock (a single-digit price-to-earnings multiple) largely on fears that its CRE and construction exposure will produce outsized losses in a downturn or a prolonged high-rate, work-from-home environment. Management is actively diversifying into other lending lines and capping individual loan sizes to reduce single-project risk, so the story is a well-run, cheap franchise against a concentrated, cyclical risk profile.
What's driving Bank OZK (OZK)?
1. Industry-leading net interest margin
OZK's net interest margin was about 4.20 percent in Q1 2026, roughly 90 basis points above the industry average, reflecting the higher yields it earns on construction and CRE loans. Net interest income rose about 3 percent year over year to roughly $385.6 million. This premium margin is the core of the bank's above-average profitability, though it can compress as rates fall and higher-yielding loans pay off.
2. Diversification away from single-project CRE
With real estate around 75 percent of the loan book, management is deliberately broadening into indirect RV and marine lending, corporate and institutional banking, and other categories while capping newly originated loans at roughly $500 million to limit single-project concentration. The goal is a more balanced portfolio that keeps OZK's high margins while reducing the tail risk that has weighed on the stock's multiple.
3. Capital return and dividend growth
OZK raised its quarterly dividend to about $0.48 per share (roughly $1.92 annualized) in mid-2026, extending a long streak of increases that has averaged about 12 percent a year over the past decade with a low payout ratio near 29 percent. A strong capital position and low payout give room for continued dividend growth and buybacks even as earnings fluctuate with the credit cycle.
4. Low valuation versus its returns
The stock trades at a single-digit trailing price-to-earnings multiple (around 8x) and a dividend yield near 3.6 percent, a discount to many regional peers despite OZK's superior margin and return on equity. If credit losses stay contained as the CRE cycle plays out, that gap between profitability and valuation is the central bull case, while a wave of charge-offs is the central bear case.
What are the risks to Bank OZK (OZK)?
OZK's defining risk is concentration: commercial real estate and construction loans dominate the book, so a downturn in property values, office and multifamily demand, or borrower cash flow could drive charge-offs well above its historically low levels. The bank has already reported CRE-related charge-offs that pressured profits in some periods, and its results are sensitive to interest rates, because falling rates can trigger a wave of loan payoffs that shrink the portfolio and margin. Deposit competition and the funding stress that hit regional banks in 2023 remain a tail risk for any lender of this size. Key-person risk around long-tenured CEO George Gleason and the general credit, capital, and regulatory pressures facing all banks round out the exposure.
How is Bank OZK (OZK) valued? (approximate, July 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Bank OZK's investor relations page or your broker.
- Market cap: ~$5.6B
- Total assets (Q1 2026): ~$41.7B
- Total deposits (Q1 2026): ~$33.8B
- Q1 2026 net income: ~$159.3M (down ~5% YoY)
- Q1 2026 EPS: ~$1.44 (down ~2% YoY)
- Dividend yield: ~3.6% (~$1.92 annualized)
- Trailing P/E: ~8x
As of July 2026 OZK traded around a $5.6 billion market cap with a trailing price-to-earnings ratio near 8x, a notable discount to many regional-bank peers. That low multiple reflects the market's caution about its commercial real estate concentration rather than weak profitability, since its net interest margin and return on equity run above peer averages. The dividend yield of roughly 3.6 percent sits modestly above the bank-industry average.
Who competes with Bank OZK (OZK)?
CRE and construction lenders
Banks with heavy commercial real estate and construction franchises such as Valley National (VLY), New York Community-successor Flagstar (FLG), and other property-focused lenders compete for the large development deals that define OZK's Real Estate Specialties Group, along with non-bank private credit and debt funds.
Peer regional banks
Similarly sized rate-sensitive regionals like Western Alliance (WAL), East West Bancorp (EWBC), Cullen/Frost (CFR), Pinnacle Financial (PNFP), and Prosperity Bancshares (PB) compete on margin, credit quality, and returns, and are the peers investors benchmark OZK's valuation against.
Larger banks and private credit
Super-regional and money-center banks (PNC, U.S. Bancorp, JPMorgan) plus fast-growing private credit funds pressure OZK on deposit pricing and on financing the largest projects, often with deeper resources and more diversified balance sheets.
How to invest in Bank OZK (OZK)
There are three common ways to get OZK exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic basket, so OZK sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where OZK fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
The bottom line on Bank OZK (OZK)
OZK is a profitable, dividend-growing regional bank whose returns hinge on its outsized commercial real estate book, net interest margin, and the credit cycle.
More on Bank OZK (OZK)
Whether OZK is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is OZK a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the OZK stock forecast.
For income investors, whether OZK pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does OZK pay a dividend?
Build a basket around OZK with Walnut
Use Bank OZK as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
What does Bank OZK do?
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Bank OZK is a regional bank based in Little Rock, Arkansas that takes deposits and makes loans across about ten states. Its signature business is its Real Estate Specialties Group, which finances large ground-up construction and commercial real estate projects such as apartments, condos, offices, and mixed-use developments in major US cities.
How big is Bank OZK?
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As of March 2026 the bank held about $41.7 billion in total assets, roughly $33.0 billion in loans, and about $33.8 billion in deposits. Its market capitalization was around $5.6 billion in mid-2026, making it a mid-sized regional bank.
How did OZK perform in its most recent quarter?
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In Q1 2026 Bank OZK reported net income of about $159.3 million, down roughly 5 percent year over year, with diluted EPS near $1.44, matching analyst estimates. Net revenues were about $418.1 million and net interest margin was about 4.20 percent, roughly 90 basis points above the industry average.
Why does OZK trade at such a low P/E?
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Its trailing price-to-earnings ratio near 8x reflects the market's caution about OZK's concentration in commercial real estate and construction lending, which makes up around 75 percent of its loan book. Investors worry that a property downturn could drive outsized charge-offs, so they discount the stock despite its above-peer margins and returns.
Does Bank OZK pay a dividend?
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Yes. OZK raised its quarterly dividend to about $0.48 per share (roughly $1.92 annualized) in mid-2026, for a yield near 3.6 percent. It has increased the dividend at about a 12 percent average annual pace over the past decade with a low payout ratio near 29 percent, though bank dividends can be cut in downturns.
What is OZK's biggest risk?
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Concentration in commercial real estate and construction lending is the defining risk. A downturn in property values, office or multifamily demand, or borrower cash flow could drive charge-offs well above OZK's historically low levels, and results are also sensitive to interest rates, deposit competition, and the broader credit cycle.
Who are Bank OZK's main competitors?
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It competes with other commercial real estate and construction lenders, similarly sized regional banks such as Western Alliance, East West Bancorp, Cullen/Frost, Pinnacle Financial, and Prosperity Bancshares, and larger banks and private credit funds that also finance large development projects.
Is Bank OZK diversifying away from commercial real estate?
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Management has said it is broadening into other lending lines such as indirect RV and marine loans and corporate and institutional banking, and it has capped newly originated loans at roughly $500 million to limit single-project risk. The aim is a more balanced portfolio while preserving the bank's high margins.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Bank OZK's investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.