ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 753,854 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 48,789 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.66% of Bank OZK worth $33,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of OZK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth $53,114,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,102,657 shares of the company's stock worth $316,281,000 after buying an additional 1,149,880 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 686,775 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth $14,077,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,811,354 shares of the company's stock worth $125,190,000 after buying an additional 314,488 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank OZK Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:OZK traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $45.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 127,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,332,117. Bank OZK has a 52 week low of $35.71 and a 52 week high of $53.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.46 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $42.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.91.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $403.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 14th. This is a positive change from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Bank OZK's payout ratio is 28.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Bank OZK Company 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.