Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 82,055 Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 66.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,979 shares of the company's stock after selling 82,055 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Bank OZK were worth $1,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,149,880 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,945,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,162,000 after buying an additional 686,775 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter worth about $14,077,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,811,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,190,000 after purchasing an additional 314,488 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,015,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,236,000 after acquiring an additional 263,913 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on OZK. Stephens cut their target price 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 lowered their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial raised Bank OZK from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.88.

Bank OZK Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ OZK traded up $0.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $47.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,021,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,749. 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 fifty day moving average of $48.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.45. Bank OZK has a 12 month low of $35.71 and a 12 month high of $53.64. The company has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 0.86.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.07. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The firm had revenue of $428.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $423.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. 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 payout ratio is presently 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.