Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $397,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Bank OZK by 39.8% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 82,513 shares of the company's stock worth $3,585,000 after purchasing an additional 23,501 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Bank OZK by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,693 shares of the company's stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Bank OZK by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 12,359 shares of the company's stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 25,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 5,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Bank OZK stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.16. 602,971 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,226,748. Bank OZK has a 52 week low of $35.71 and a 52 week high of $53.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.73 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $44.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.38.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.46% and a net margin of 25.66%. The business had revenue of $409.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $403.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.