Xponance Inc. Increases Stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,250 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 849 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank OZK in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Bank OZK by 176.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 761 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Bank OZK by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the period. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter valued at $93,000. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OZK has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group started coverage on Bank OZK in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Bank OZK from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.38.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OZK opened at $45.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.23. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $37.43 and a twelve month high of $53.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.31 and a 200 day moving average of $46.04.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.12. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 25.83%. The firm had revenue of $412.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $407.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. This is a boost from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.36%.

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.