Invesco Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in Bank OZK shares by 2.6%, owning 558,915 shares after selling 14,657 shares in the first quarter.
• Bank OZK recently reported earnings of $1.58 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.44.
• Brokerages have upgraded Bank OZK's stock ratings, with target prices raised, indicating a shift in investor sentiment toward a more positive outlook.

Invesco Ltd. trimmed its stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 558,915 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,657 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.49% of Bank OZK worth $24,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the first quarter worth $30,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 4,828.6% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 2,014.3% in the first 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. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 12.8% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,960 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 1,052.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 1,993 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on OZK shares. Raymond James Financial upgraded Bank OZK from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stephens upgraded Bank OZK from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.25.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Bank OZK stock traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.13. 801,869 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 889,687. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Bank OZK has a 12-month low of $35.71 and a 12-month high of $53.64. The business's 50-day moving average is $49.70 and its 200-day moving average is $46.38.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $428.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $423.41 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 25.83%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.57%.

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.