KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $1.27 Million in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 28,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,265,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Bank OZK stock opened at $43.73 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $48.19 and a 200-day moving average of $46.09. The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 1.23. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $37.43 and a 1 year high of $53.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.