United Services Automobile Association Buys New Stake in Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association invested approximately $296,000 in Bank OZK, acquiring 6,780 shares in the first quarter.
• Bank OZK recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend of $1.76 and a yield of 3.4%.
• Analysts are optimistic about Bank OZK's outlook, with various firms raising their price targets, indicating a current consensus target of $54.25 for the stock.

United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Bank OZK during the first quarter valued at approximately $14,197,000. Earnest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $12,696,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $11,297,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $10,587,000 after purchasing an additional 238,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,405,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,510,000 after purchasing an additional 228,295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Bank OZK Trading Up 1.6%

NASDAQ OZK traded up $0.83 on Thursday, reaching $52.79. The stock had a trading volume of 241,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,138,576. Bank OZK has a 12-month low of $35.71 and a 12-month high of $53.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $51.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.66. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 0.92.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $428.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $423.41 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 25.83%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 dividend of $0.44 per share. 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 of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on OZK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial upgraded Bank OZK from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Stephens upgraded Bank OZK from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.25.

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.