Cerity Partners LLC Has $2.69 Million Stock Position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,590 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,873 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of Bank OZK worth $2,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Bank OZK during the third quarter worth $392,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 25,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 3,033 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Bank OZK by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 21,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in Bank OZK by 83.2% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 10,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 4,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Bank OZK by 30.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 254,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,958,000 after buying an additional 59,907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Bank OZK stock opened at $38.38 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $35.71 and a 1 year high of $53.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $45.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.90.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $412.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $407.19 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. Bank OZK’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on OZK. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.38.

Bank OZK Profile

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.