American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 228,295 Shares of Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Bank OZK by 10.5%, holding over 2.4 million shares valued at $104.51 million.
• Bank OZK reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.58, exceeding analyst estimates, and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.44, reflecting an annual yield of 3.6%.
• Currently, 86.18% of Bank OZK's stock is held by institutional investors, with various firms adjusting their positions, including significant increases from Bruce G. Allen Investments and UMB Bank.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,405,292 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 228,295 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 2.12% of Bank OZK worth $104,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of OZK. CX Institutional bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in Bank OZK by 4,828.6% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Bank OZK by 12.8% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,960 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in Bank OZK by 1,052.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 1,993 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,820 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stephens upgraded shares of Bank OZK from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.25.

Bank OZK Trading Up 4.3%

NASDAQ OZK traded up $2.1660 on Friday, hitting $52.0760. 257,830 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,176,047. The company's 50 day moving average price is $49.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.86. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $35.71 and a twelve month high of $53.64.

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

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

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.