First Trust Advisors LP Has $143.16 Million Position in Bank OZK $OZK

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,808,166 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,427 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 2.47% of Bank OZK worth $143,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Bank OZK Stock Performance

NASDAQ:OZK opened at $45.09 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 0.93. 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 12-month low of $35.71 and a 12-month high of $53.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.31.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.03). Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.50% and a return on equity of 12.65%. The company had revenue of $436.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $434.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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 Tuesday, January 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is presently 29.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens lowered their target price on Bank OZK from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Bank OZK from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler set a $62.00 price objective on Bank OZK in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Bank OZK presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.