BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 9,892 Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 321,758 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,892 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.28% of Bank OZK worth $14,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in OZK. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 30.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 254,874 shares of the company's stock worth $10,958,000 after buying an additional 59,907 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Bank OZK by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 56,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank OZK by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 5,302 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in Bank OZK in the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank OZK by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OZK traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $46.48. 769,099 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,337,465. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 0.85. 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 has a 52 week low of $35.71 and a 52 week high of $53.64. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $42.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.83.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 25.83%. The firm had revenue of $409.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $403.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 14th. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.20%.

Bank OZK Profile

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.