Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 60.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,942 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,387 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Bank OZK were worth $736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 176.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 761 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 81.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 948 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 2,014.3% in 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. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on OZK. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.86.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OZK traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.68. 600,808 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,255,742. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $35.71 and a 1 year high of $53.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.52 and a 200 day moving average of $45.50.

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

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. This is a positive change from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.20%.

Bank OZK 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.