Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $10.80 Million Holdings in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 30.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 242,543 shares of the company's stock after selling 106,547 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.21% of Bank OZK worth $10,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in Bank OZK by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,102,657 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149,880 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Bank OZK by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,130,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $183,909,000 after buying an additional 188,575 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 30.4% in 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. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,811,354 shares of the company's stock worth $125,190,000 after acquiring an additional 314,488 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,176,997 shares of the company's stock worth $96,942,000 after acquiring an additional 238,810 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of OZK stock traded down $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $44.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 254,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,332,798. Bank OZK has a fifty-two week low of $35.71 and a fifty-two week high of $53.64. The company has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's 50 day moving average is $42.81 and its 200-day moving average is $45.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $409.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 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, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. 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 Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens dropped their price target on Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on 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.