Villanova Investment Management Co LLC Buys 60,223 Shares of Bank OZK $OZK

Villanova Investment Management Co LLC increased its position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 191.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 91,731 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,223 shares during the period. Bank OZK comprises about 4.5% of Villanova Investment Management Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $4,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 58.2% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Bank OZK in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Bank OZK during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Bank OZK by 1,114.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the second quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on OZK. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research lowered Bank OZK from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Stephens raised Bank OZK from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Bank OZK in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.75.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of OZK opened at $47.26 on Monday. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $35.71 and a 1 year high of $53.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $46.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.42. The firm has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 7.62 and a beta of 0.92.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.07). Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.00% and a net margin of 25.81%.The firm had revenue of $449.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.93 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 14th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 14th. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is presently 29.03%.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK provides various retail and commercial banking services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers deposit services, including non-interest bearing checking, interest bearing transaction, business sweep, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other accounts, as well as time and reciprocal deposits.