Strs Ohio Makes New $1.42 Million Investment in Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired 32,734 shares of Bank OZK, valued at approximately $1,422,000, highlighting increased interest from institutional investors in the bank's stock.
• Bank OZK recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, marking an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%, reflecting strong financial performance with a net margin of 25.83%.
• Analysts have shown positive sentiment, with firms like Stephens upgrading their rating on Bank OZK and increasing the price target from $58.00 to $65.00, suggesting bullish prospects for the company.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 32,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,422,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in OZK. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 4,828.6% in the 1st 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 boosted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 1,114.3% in the 1st 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. boosted its position in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OZK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised Bank OZK from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Stephens upgraded Bank OZK from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.25.

Bank OZK Price Performance

OZK stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $52.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,417,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 874,758. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $35.71 and a twelve month high of $53.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50-day moving average price is $51.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.77.

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

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. Bank OZK's payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

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.