Inspire Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 14,640 Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Key Points

• Inspire Advisors LLC has made a new investment in Bank OZK, purchasing 14,640 shares valued at approximately $636,000.
• Bank OZK recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, up from $0.43, reflecting a yield of 3.42%.
• The company's recent earnings report showed $1.58 EPS, exceeding estimates, and revenue of $428.04 million for the quarter.

Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $636,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 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 acquiring an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 2,014.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,480 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank OZK by 1,052.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 1,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,820 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial raised Bank OZK from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.88.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OZK traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $49.32. 436,001 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,203,682. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $47.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.41. The firm has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.01 and a beta of 0.85. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $35.71 and a twelve month high of $53.64.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.07. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 25.83%. The business had revenue of $428.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $423.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Bank OZK's payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

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.