Bank OZK $OZK Shares Bought by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 64.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,731 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,888 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Bank OZK worth $4,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Bank OZK by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Bank OZK by 160.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 107,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,035,000 after buying an additional 65,946 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 57.2% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 694,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,705,000 after acquiring an additional 253,001 shares in the last quarter. Twin Lions Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bank OZK by 23.1% during the second quarter. Twin Lions Management LLC now owns 340,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,016,000 after acquiring an additional 63,800 shares during the period. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the third quarter worth $773,000. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Bank OZK from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens decreased their price objective on Bank OZK from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.78.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of OZK opened at $47.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Bank OZK has a 52-week low of $35.71 and a 52-week high of $53.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.58. The company has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 0.90.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $436.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $434.68 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 25.50%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Research analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is 29.82%.

About Bank OZK

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.