VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes Position in Bank OZK $OZK

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 190,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,946,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 34.9% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,437,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,924,387 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,625,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,045,000 after purchasing an additional 38,592 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,556,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,712,000 after purchasing an additional 546,785 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 4,666.9% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,348,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,215,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,554,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,576,000 after purchasing an additional 73,920 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Stock Down 2.3%

OZK stock opened at $49.26 on Wednesday. Bank OZK has a 1-year low of $42.37 and a 1-year high of $53.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 0.88.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 24.95%.The company had revenue of $430.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $436.42 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. Bank OZK’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, June 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 13th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on OZK. UBS Group upped their price target on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Bank OZK from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank OZK currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.88.

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.