Great Lakes Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Bank OZK by 8.6%, selling 12,617 shares, resulting in ownership of 134,044 shares valued at approximately $5.82 million.
• Bank OZK has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.4% with a payout ratio of 28.57%.
• Analyst ratings for Bank OZK have been largely positive, with price targets raised by firms including Wells Fargo and Stephens, indicating a consensus price target of $54.25.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 134,044 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,617 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.12% of Bank OZK worth $5,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OZK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,350,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,017,000 after acquiring an additional 220,214 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,405,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,510,000 after acquiring an additional 228,295 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,127,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,993,000 after acquiring an additional 23,492 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 753,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,569,000 after acquiring an additional 48,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newport Trust Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 656,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,546,000 after acquiring an additional 4,146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Bank OZK Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ OZK traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $51.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 163,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,139,116. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $50.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.56. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $35.71 and a twelve month high of $53.66.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $428.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $423.41 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of Bank OZK from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of 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, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.25.

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.