Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Buys 11,844 Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 59.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,835 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,844 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $1,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 136.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 359,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,930,000 after acquiring an additional 207,341 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its stake in Bank OZK by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 188,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,397,000 after purchasing an additional 82,233 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Bank OZK during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,437,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,293,000. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,624,000. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Bank OZK Price Performance

NASDAQ:OZK traded down $0.76 on Tuesday, hitting $44.85. The company had a trading volume of 252,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,308,735. Bank OZK has a 52 week low of $34.76 and a 52 week high of $52.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.89.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.52. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 14.50% and a net margin of 27.04%. The business had revenue of $416.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $414.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Investors of record on Friday, July 12th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 12th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on OZK. Citigroup lowered Bank OZK from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $57.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Bank OZK from $41.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.29.

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.