Villanova Investment Management Co LLC Has $1.37 Million Stock Holdings in Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• Villanova Investment Management Co LLC has reduced its stake in Bank OZK by 65.4%, now holding 31,508 shares valued at approximately $1.37 million, making it the firm's 3rd largest holding.
• Several institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and American Century Companies Inc., have significantly increased their positions in Bank OZK during the first quarter, indicating growing interest in the stock.
• Bank OZK recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.44 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.4% and reflecting a healthy dividend payout ratio of 28.57%.

Villanova Investment Management Co LLC cut its position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 65.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,508 shares of the company's stock after selling 59,519 shares during the period. Bank OZK comprises about 3.8% of Villanova Investment Management Co LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC's holdings in Bank OZK were worth $1,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of OZK. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the first quarter valued at approximately $14,197,000. Earnest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the first quarter valued at approximately $12,696,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the first quarter valued at approximately $11,297,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Bank OZK by 5,021.2% during the first 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 period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Bank OZK by 10.5% during the first 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 period. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial upgraded 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 Bank OZK from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.25.

Bank OZK Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of OZK traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $51.08. 244,686 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,137,241. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Bank OZK has a 1-year low of $35.71 and a 1-year high of $53.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.02 and a 200-day moving average of $46.59.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $428.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 posted $1.52 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business 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 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.