California Public Employees Retirement System Has $10.63 Million Holdings in Bank OZK $OZK

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 11.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 231,654 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,485 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.21% of Bank OZK worth $10,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ruffer LLP acquired a new stake in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth $3,137,000. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 531,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,475,000 after purchasing an additional 63,051 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Bank OZK by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 284,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,371,000 after buying an additional 50,258 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank OZK by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,869,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,031,000 after buying an additional 50,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 327.8% in the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 64,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after buying an additional 49,716 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Bank OZK Price Performance

NASDAQ:OZK opened at $50.33 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.01 and a 200-day moving average of $48.28. The company has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32 and a beta of 0.89. Bank OZK has a 52 week low of $42.37 and a 52 week high of $53.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $430.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.42 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 24.95% and a return on equity of 11.87%. The firm’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 13th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 13th. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.74%.

Bank OZK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, June 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on OZK. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bank OZK from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. TD Cowen cut their price target on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group assumed coverage on Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

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.