Bank OZK $OZK Shares Sold by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 23.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 203,186 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63,692 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $9,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OZK. BOKF NA acquired a new position in Bank OZK in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank OZK during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in Bank OZK by 100.5% during the fourth quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 111.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on OZK shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.38.

Bank OZK Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Bank OZK stock opened at $51.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 0.89. Bank OZK has a 52-week low of $42.37 and a 52-week high of $53.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Bank OZK had a net margin of 24.95% and a return on equity of 11.87%. The firm had revenue of $430.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is 31.74%.

Bank OZK declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, June 29th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank OZK Profile

Bank OZK, formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks, is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Established in 1903, the bank offers a full suite of banking products and services to both individual and corporate clients. Through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions, Bank OZK has built a diversified lending portfolio and a strong deposit franchise.

The bank’s core operations focus on commercial real estate lending, including acquisition, development and construction financing.