Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 11,800 Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 54.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,325 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,800 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Bank OZK were worth $1,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,218,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Bank OZK by 17.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,608 shares of the company's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in Bank OZK by 4,828.6% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 60.5% in the 1st quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 6,387 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Bank OZK by 2,014.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,480 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on OZK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.86.

Bank OZK Price Performance

OZK stock traded up $0.51 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.93. The company had a trading volume of 334,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,241,310. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.46. Bank OZK has a fifty-two week low of $35.71 and a fifty-two week high of $53.64. The company has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 13.46%. The company had revenue of $409.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $403.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. Equities research 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 Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 14th. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.20%.

About Bank OZK

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.