Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 19,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $853,000.
Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,114,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in Bank OZK by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,102,657 shares of the company's stock worth $316,281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149,880 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,945,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,162,000 after buying an additional 686,775 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,077,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,811,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,190,000 after purchasing an additional 314,488 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Bank OZK Price Performance
Shares of Bank OZK stock traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.97. 67,633 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,331,889. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.91. Bank OZK has a 52 week low of $35.71 and a 52 week high of $53.64. The firm has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02.
Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $409.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $403.05 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.
Bank OZK Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 14th. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.20%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.13.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on OZK
Bank OZK Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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