Wasatch Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Bank OZK $OZK

Wasatch Advisors LP lowered its holdings in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,126,398 shares of the company’s stock after selling 818,947 shares during the quarter. Bank OZK accounts for about 1.9% of Wasatch Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Wasatch Advisors LP owned 0.05% of Bank OZK worth $281,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. BOKF NA bought a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 100.5% in the fourth quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 111.2% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Bank OZK from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group initiated 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. Weiss Ratings raised Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.89.

Bank OZK Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:OZK opened at $52.11 on Friday. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $42.37 and a 1 year high of $53.66. The company has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.85 and its 200 day moving average is $47.80.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). Bank OZK had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 25.27%.The business had revenue of $424.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $422.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 13th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.62%.

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.