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

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 54.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,325 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,800 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Bank OZK were worth $1,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth about $277,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 76.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 83,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,715,000 after acquiring an additional 36,266 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 82,829 shares of the company's stock worth $3,688,000 after buying an additional 20,049 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Bank OZK by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 948 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Bank OZK by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 342,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,248,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Bank OZK Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of OZK stock opened at $44.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Bank OZK has a 12 month low of $35.71 and a 12 month high of $53.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.52 and a 200-day moving average of $45.53.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 25.83%. The business had revenue of $409.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 14th. This is a positive change from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on OZK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of 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. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.86.

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.

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