Bank OZK $OZK Stake Increased by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 103.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,033 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,170 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $1,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,141,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Bank OZK by 11.6% in the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 18,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 1,907 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Bank OZK by 6.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $802,000 after buying an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Bank OZK by 13.3% during the third quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in Bank OZK by 133.9% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 28,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,440,000 after buying an additional 16,172 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OZK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Bank OZK from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. 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 research note on Thursday, January 22nd. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.78.

Bank OZK Stock Up 3.0%

Bank OZK stock opened at $51.40 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.33 and a beta of 0.94. Bank OZK has a one year low of $35.71 and a one year high of $53.66.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.03). Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.50% and a return on equity of 12.65%. The firm had revenue of $436.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $434.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.82%.

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.