Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor Buys Shares of 269,495 Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management initiated a position in Bank OZK, purchasing 269,495 shares worth approximately $14.0 million, or about 0.24% of the bank.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $56.88. Recent ratings ranged from Piper Sandler’s $61 “overweight” view to Zacks Research’s “strong sell” downgrade.
• Bank OZK reported quarterly EPS of $1.49, slightly above estimates, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.48. The bank also authorized a $200 million share buyback, allowing repurchases of up to 3.4% of outstanding shares.

Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 269,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,038,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor owned approximately 0.24% of Bank OZK at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Bank OZK by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Bank OZK by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 11,336 shares of the company's stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its position in Bank OZK by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 48,979 shares of the company's stock worth $2,254,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Bank OZK by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,403 shares of the company's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Bank OZK by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 38,261 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on OZK. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank OZK from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Bank OZK from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.88.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Bank OZK stock opened at $51.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.75. The company has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.89. Bank OZK has a fifty-two week low of $42.37 and a fifty-two week high of $53.66.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 24.95%.The company had revenue of $430.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $436.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 13th. This is a positive change from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.74%.

Bank OZK declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, June 29th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK, formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks, is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Established in 1903, the bank offers a full suite of banking products and services to both individual and corporate clients. Through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions, Bank OZK has built a diversified lending portfolio and a strong deposit franchise.

The bank's core operations focus on commercial real estate lending, including acquisition, development and construction financing.

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