B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Raises Holdings in Bank OZK $OZK

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,358 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,556 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG owned about 0.08% of Bank OZK worth $4,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,026,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank OZK during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,141,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Bank OZK by 160.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 107,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,035,000 after purchasing an additional 65,946 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 64.6% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 78,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,014,000 after purchasing an additional 30,888 shares during the period. Finally, Villanova Investment Management Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 37.1% in the third quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 125,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,412,000 after purchasing an additional 34,049 shares during the period. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Stock Down 2.9%

OZK opened at $45.09 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 0.93. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $35.71 and a twelve month high of $53.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $48.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.31. 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 (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.03). Bank OZK had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 25.50%.The firm had revenue of $436.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $434.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on OZK shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Bank OZK from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.22.

Bank OZK Profile

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.