State of Wyoming Acquires 4,867 Shares of Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• The State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Bank OZK by 40.1%, acquiring an additional 4,867 shares, bringing its total to 16,991 shares valued at approximately $738,000.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Bank OZK, with one firm growing its position by 4,828.6% during the first quarter.
• Bank OZK recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.43 to $0.44 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.3%.

State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 40.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,991 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,867 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming's holdings in Bank OZK were worth $738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 4,828.6% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 1,114.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,105 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Bank OZK by 2,014.3% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,480 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 1,410 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

OZK stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.33. 627,123 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,164,919. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $35.71 and a twelve month high of $53.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.50 and a beta of 0.92.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.07. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 25.83%.The company had revenue of $428.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $423.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is 28.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on OZK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Bank OZK from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Bank OZK from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.