Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $17.81 Million Stake in Bank OZK $OZK

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 35.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 385,709 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 101,451 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.34% of Bank OZK worth $17,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Bank OZK by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,792,000 after buying an additional 11,310 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 14.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 46,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 5,717 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 1.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 60,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 8.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 349,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,197,000 after purchasing an additional 26,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 11.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Bank OZK

Here are the key news stories impacting Bank OZK this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank OZK beat Q2 earnings expectations, reporting $1.49 per share versus the $1.46 consensus estimate, which suggests operations remained better than expected. Bank OZK (OZK) Tops Q2 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Several research notes from Zacks Research lifted future earnings estimates for Bank OZK, signaling improved analyst confidence in the bank’s longer-term profit outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment remains cautious overall, with consensus recommendations still sitting at “Hold,” indicating the stock may not have a strong near-term catalyst beyond earnings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank OZK also announced a new warehouse credit facility with Empire Asset Finance, a business update that supports lending activity but is unlikely to move the stock by itself. Empire Asset Finance Secures Senior Warehouse Credit Facility with Bank OZK
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, Q2 net income and EPS were both lower than a year ago, raising concerns about earnings momentum and helping explain the stock’s softer tone.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OZK has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings raised Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.25.

Bank OZK Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:OZK opened at $50.78 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bank OZK has a 12-month low of $42.37 and a 12-month high of $53.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 0.89.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 25.27%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, June 29th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 13th. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.27%.

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.