Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Invests $340,000 in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $340,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OZK. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Bank OZK by 30.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 254,874 shares of the company's stock worth $10,958,000 after acquiring an additional 59,907 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Bank OZK by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 342,417 shares of the company's stock worth $15,248,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Bank OZK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $307,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Bank OZK during the fourth quarter worth approximately $227,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Bank OZK by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,727 shares of the company's stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,788 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Price Performance

NASDAQ:OZK traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $46.49. The company had a trading volume of 19,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,332,911. Bank OZK has a one year low of $35.71 and a one year high of $53.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 0.85.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. The company 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 14th. This is an increase from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on OZK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.13.

About Bank OZK

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.