Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased 123,441 shares of Bank OZK, valued at approximately $5.36 million, representing around 0.11% ownership of the company.
• Analysts have mixed views on Bank OZK, with price targets ranging from $48.00 to $58.00 and a current consensus rating of "Hold" based on six hold ratings and two buy ratings.
• Bank OZK recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.6%, reflecting positive growth from the previous dividend.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 123,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,364,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Bank OZK as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of OZK. CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted 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. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,410 shares in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

OZK traded down $0.1650 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $49.8950. The company had a trading volume of 212,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,180,573. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $49.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.04. Bank OZK has a 12-month low of $35.71 and a 12-month high of $53.64. The stock has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.11 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Bank OZK's payout ratio is 28.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OZK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised Bank OZK from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stephens upgraded shares of Bank OZK from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.25.

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.