Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Shares Sold by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 27.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 729,362 shares of the company's stock after selling 277,971 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.64% of Bank OZK worth $32,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bank OZK during the fourth quarter worth $53,114,000. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,102,657 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149,880 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Bank OZK by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,945,480 shares of the company's stock worth $131,162,000 after purchasing an additional 686,775 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,077,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,811,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,190,000 after acquiring an additional 314,488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on OZK shares. Stephens lowered their target price on Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.13.

Bank OZK Price Performance

NASDAQ:OZK traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.61. The stock had a trading volume of 623,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,337,432. Bank OZK has a 52 week low of $35.71 and a 52 week high of $53.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The business had revenue of $409.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $403.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 14th. This is an increase from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Bank OZK's payout ratio is presently 28.20%.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK provides various retail and commercial banking services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers deposit services, including non-interest bearing checking, interest bearing transaction, business sweep, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other accounts, as well as time and reciprocal deposits.