SG Americas Securities LLC Invests $1.22 Million in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 28,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,218,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $961,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 46,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,085,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horrell Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 106,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,759,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

NASDAQ:OZK opened at $44.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 0.85. Bank OZK has a 1-year low of $35.71 and a 1-year high of $53.64.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $409.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.05 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 14th. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is currently 28.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on OZK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.86.

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.