EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $408,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Bank OZK by 176.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 761 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 81.3% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 948 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank OZK Trading Up 0.9%

OZK traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.93. 914,463 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,340,746. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $35.71 and a 1 year high of $53.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.89. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.64 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 (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $409.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $403.05 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 25.83%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th were given a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on OZK. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on 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 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 given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.13.

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.