Advisors Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC bought 7,340 shares of Bank OZK valued at approximately $319,000, indicating institutional interest in the stock.
• Bank OZK reported earnings of $1.58 per share, surpassing expectations of $1.51, along with a revenue of $428.04 million.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, reflecting a positive move in shareholder returns with a yield of 3.4%.

Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,340 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in Bank OZK in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in Bank OZK by 4,828.6% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Bank OZK by 1,114.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,105 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Bank OZK by 2,014.3% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OZK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens upgraded Bank OZK from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Bank OZK from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.25.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

OZK traded up $0.77 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.97. The stock had a trading volume of 549,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,136,179. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.62. Bank OZK has a 12 month low of $35.71 and a 12 month high of $53.66. The firm has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $428.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $423.41 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 25.83%.During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

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.