Ranger Investment Management L.P. Takes $13.24 Million Position in Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• Ranger Investment Management purchased 254,180 Bank OZK shares worth approximately $13.24 million, representing about 0.23% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 86.18% of OZK.
• Bank OZK slightly exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.49 versus $1.48 expected, while revenue reached $430.02 million. The board also authorized a $200 million share-buyback program and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.48 per share, providing a 3.9% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with three Buy, five Hold, and two Sell ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with a $56.88 price target, compared with a recent share price of $49.42.

Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 254,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,240,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.23% of Bank OZK as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of OZK. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 11,310 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 14.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 46,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 5,717 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 1.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 60,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 8.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 349,749 shares of the company's stock worth $15,197,000 after buying an additional 26,676 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 11.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,711 shares of the company's stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 1,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Bank OZK Price Performance

NASDAQ OZK opened at $49.42 on Monday. Bank OZK has a 12 month low of $42.37 and a 12 month high of $53.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $50.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.81.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $430.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.42 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 24.95%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, June 29th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 13th. This is an increase from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on OZK. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research cut Bank OZK from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.88.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK, formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks, is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Established in 1903, the bank offers a full suite of banking products and services to both individual and corporate clients. Through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions, Bank OZK has built a diversified lending portfolio and a strong deposit franchise.

The bank's core operations focus on commercial real estate lending, including acquisition, development and construction financing.

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