Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 37.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,458 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,868 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.07% of Bank OZK worth $3,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,114,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Bank OZK by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,102,657 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149,880 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Bank OZK by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,945,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,162,000 after purchasing an additional 686,775 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at $14,077,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Bank OZK by 12.6% during the fourth 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. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Price Performance

NASDAQ:OZK traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $51.96. 1,752,185 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,199,963. The firm has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 0.85. Bank OZK has a 52 week low of $35.71 and a 52 week high of $53.64. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $47.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.46% and a net margin of 25.66%. The business had revenue of $428.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $423.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on OZK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Bank OZK from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stephens cut their price target on Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.75.

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.