Van Berkom & Associates Inc. Sells 145,032 Shares of Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• Van Berkom & Associates cut its Bank OZK stake by 7.8% in the first quarter, selling 145,032 shares and leaving it with 1.72 million shares worth about $79.1 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with several recent rating changes and an overall consensus of “Hold”; the average price target is $56.25.
• Bank OZK is returning more capital to shareholders by raising its quarterly dividend to $0.48 and authorizing a new $200 million share buyback program.

Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,724,400 shares of the company's stock after selling 145,032 shares during the period. Bank OZK makes up approximately 2.6% of Van Berkom & Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. owned about 1.54% of Bank OZK worth $79,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 34.9% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,437,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,924,387 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Bank OZK by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,625,660 shares of the company's stock worth $304,045,000 after buying an additional 38,592 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Bank OZK by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,556,105 shares of the company's stock worth $301,712,000 after buying an additional 546,785 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Bank OZK by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,554,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,576,000 after buying an additional 73,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Bank OZK by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,901,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,532,000 after buying an additional 93,445 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank OZK from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Bank OZK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.25.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of OZK stock opened at $52.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 0.89. Bank OZK has a 52 week low of $42.37 and a 52 week high of $53.66. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $49.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.15.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.27% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The company had revenue of $424.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $422.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. This is a positive change from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.27%.

Bank OZK announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, June 29th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank OZK Company Profile

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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