We recently compiled a list of the 15 Best Stocks To Invest In For Retirement. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) stands against the other stocks.

It is common knowledge that retirees with private sources of income, pension, or alternate employment are faring better than those relying only on social security. According to the Federal Reserve, Americans in the workforce were rather confident about their retirement savings in 2023. That year, 27% of adults had already retired in the United States, with 15% of them still working in some capacity. Retirees were working part-time rather than full-time. However, those with disabilities or low education were less prone to finding employment after retirement. 51% of adults retired to pursue passion projects or spend time with family, and 46% attributed their decision to retire to health issues, caregiving roles, or downsizing at work.

While social security remained the primary source of income for retirees, 80% of them had private sources of income as per the Fed’s 2023 report. 56% of them had pensions, 48% relied on investment income – which includes interest, dividends, or rental income, and 33% had labor income to fall back on. 92% of retirees in this 12-month survey were in the age bracket of 65 or above.

Over the last few decades, private companies have largely eliminated pension plans, shifting the onus of retirement savings to employees via 401(k)s. In 2022, only 15% of private industry workers had access to a pension. Retirement satisfaction has also dropped, with only 48% of retirees aged 62-75 commenting that they are very satisfied in 2023, down from 62% in 2020. Rising inflation has cut into retirees’ spending power, and 68% of them are burdened with credit card debt, up from 43% in 2020.

Sam Dogen, a millionaire who retired early and founded Financial Samurai, told CNBC that dividends are a source of reliable income. He commented:

“Stock dividends are my favorite passive income strategy because it is 100% passive.”

While young investors tend to reinvest dividend payouts, retirees can very well use it as a source of steady income. Dogen pointed out the consistent stock market growth over time and stated that dividend stocks are thus a dependable source of income over the long run. Given this, we will now take a look at some of the best stocks to buy for retirement.

Our Methodology

For this article, we used the Finviz stock screener to filter out stocks with dividend yields over 2% and dividend payout ratios under 30% as of February 19. We focused on picking stocks with a consistent record of paying dividends, offering dividend growth over the years, and being financially stable to steer clear of yield traps. The list below is ranked in ascending order of the hedge fund sentiment as of Q4 2024.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 363.5% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 208 percentage points (see more details here).

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Dividend Yield as of February 19: 3.27%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37

Established in 1903 and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) is an American bank offering a range of retail and commercial banking services. It offers checking and savings accounts, wealth management services, and loans for real estate, small businesses, and commercial financing. Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) is one of the best stocks to invest in, with a dividend yield of 3.27% as of February 19.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) concluded another strong quarter, posting a record $178.1 million in net income for Q4 2024, a 4.1% increase from last year and its ninth consecutive quarterly record. For the full year, net income hit $700.3 million, up 3.8% from 2023. Earnings per share also increased, reaching $1.56 for the quarter and $6.14 for the year. OZK continued its streak of dividend increases, raising its quarterly payout to $0.42 per share. The dividend was paid on January 21, 2025. With 58 straight quarters of dividend growth, Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) remains a favorite stock of retirees.

Among the hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) was part of 37 stock portfolios, up from 27 in the third quarter. Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management was the biggest stakeholder of the company, with 2.8 million shares worth $125 million.

Overall OZK ranks 10th on our list of the best stocks to invest in for retirement. While we acknowledge the potential of OZK as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than OZK but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.