Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 85,599 Shares of Bank OZK $OZK

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,234,679 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85,599 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Bank OZK worth $572,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of OZK. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Bank OZK in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the third quarter worth $28,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Bank OZK by 147.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 665 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Bank OZK from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Bank OZK from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on Bank OZK from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Five equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank OZK currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.78.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OZK opened at $48.63 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $48.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.44. The company has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 0.94. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $35.71 and a twelve month high of $53.66.

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

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.82%.

About Bank OZK

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.