Villanova Investment Management Co LLC Sells 59,519 Shares of 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 reduced its position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 65.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,508 shares of the company's stock after selling 59,519 shares during the period. Bank OZK accounts for about 3.8% of Villanova Investment Management Co LLC's 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.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank OZK by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,350,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,017,000 after purchasing an additional 220,214 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Bank OZK by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,127,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,993,000 after purchasing an additional 23,492 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Bank OZK by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 753,854 shares of the company's stock worth $33,569,000 after buying an additional 48,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newport Trust Company LLC raised its position in Bank OZK by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 656,987 shares of the company's stock worth $28,546,000 after buying an additional 4,146 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on OZK. Stephens raised shares of Bank OZK from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Bank OZK from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.25.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OZK traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $52.19. 470,019 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 730,635. 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 company has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.57. Bank OZK has a 52-week low of $35.71 and a 52-week high of $53.66.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $428.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. 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. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. 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.