Sowell Financial Services LLC Acquires Shares of 8,207 Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 8,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of OZK. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 342,417 shares of the company's stock worth $15,248,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 5,021.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 243,668 shares of the company's stock worth $10,587,000 after acquiring an additional 238,910 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 34,815 shares of the company's stock worth $1,550,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,832 shares of the company's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Bank OZK Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ OZK opened at $45.31 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $44.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.41. Bank OZK has a one year low of $35.71 and a one year high of $53.64.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $409.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $403.05 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 13.46%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on OZK shares. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 reduced their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.86.

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.

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