Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Position in Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Bank OZK by 1.5% during the first quarter, now holding 11,334,145 shares, which represents 9.99% of the company worth approximately $492 million.
• Bank OZK recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.44 per share, raising its annualized dividend to $1.76, with a yield of 3.6%.
• Analysts currently rate Bank OZK as a "Hold" with an average target price of $52.88, reflecting mixed opinions from various investment firms.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,334,145 shares of the company's stock after selling 167,711 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.99% of Bank OZK worth $492,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in 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 during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,410 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Bank OZK by 1,052.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 1,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 176.8% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,242 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stephens decreased their target price on Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank OZK currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.88.

Bank OZK Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:OZK traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $49.97. 198,282 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,184,114. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.37. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $35.71 and a 1 year high of $53.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $428.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $423.41 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.24%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. Bank OZK's payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

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.