Wellington Management Group LLP Trims Stock Position in Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• Wellington Management cut its Bank OZK stake by 34.8% in the second quarter, selling 251,154 shares and retaining 470,333 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 86.18% of the bank.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on OZK, with an average price target of $56.88. The stock recently traded at $50.43, while quarterly earnings of $1.49 per share slightly exceeded estimates.
• Bank OZK raised its quarterly dividend to $0.48 per share, implying a 3.8% annual yield, and authorized a $200 million share-repurchase program covering up to 3.4% of outstanding shares.

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its holdings in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 470,333 shares of the company's stock after selling 251,154 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.42% of Bank OZK worth $24,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 531,843 shares of the company's stock worth $24,475,000 after purchasing an additional 63,051 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Bank OZK by 33.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 774,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,530,000 after purchasing an additional 192,237 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Bank OZK by 2,971.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 33,627 shares of the company's stock worth $1,543,000 after buying an additional 32,532 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 11.8% in the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 231,654 shares of the company's stock worth $10,631,000 after buying an additional 24,485 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 62,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,860,000 after buying an additional 20,821 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on OZK shares. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Bank OZK from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.88.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

OZK opened at $50.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.73 and a 200 day moving average of $48.78. Bank OZK has a fifty-two week low of $42.37 and a fifty-two week high of $53.66.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $430.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.42 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 24.95% and a return on equity of 11.87%. The business's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th were given a $0.48 dividend. This is an increase from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 13th. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.74%.

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

Bank OZK 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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