Scientech Research LLC Has $1.02 Million Holdings in Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• Scientech Research LLC significantly increased its stake in Bank OZK by 263.9%, owning 23,521 shares worth approximately $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 17,057 shares during the 1st quarter.
• Bank OZK recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.43 to $0.44, representing a 3.4% yield, with a payout ratio of 28.57%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" on Bank OZK, with price targets ranging from $49.00 to $65.00, indicating mixed outlooks on the stock’s performance.

Scientech Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 263.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,521 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,057 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC's holdings in Bank OZK were worth $1,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of OZK. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Bank OZK during the first quarter valued at $14,197,000. Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Bank OZK during the first quarter valued at $12,696,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Bank OZK during the first quarter valued at $11,297,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Bank OZK by 5,021.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 243,668 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,587,000 after purchasing an additional 238,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Bank OZK by 10.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,405,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,510,000 after purchasing an additional 228,295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial raised 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, Stephens raised 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, August 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.25.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OZK traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $52.25. 909,090 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,151,845. Bank OZK has a 1-year low of $35.71 and a 1-year high of $53.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50-day moving average price is $50.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.47.

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

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

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