Fourthstone LLC Makes New $512,000 Investment in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Fourthstone LLC bought a new stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $512,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,102,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149,880 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,130,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,909,000 after buying an additional 188,575 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Bank OZK by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,176,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,942,000 after acquiring an additional 238,810 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Bank OZK by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,038,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,798,000 after acquiring an additional 15,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Bank OZK by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,464,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,193,000 after acquiring an additional 142,587 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank OZK Trading Up 0.3 %

OZK opened at $39.34 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 1.05. Bank OZK has a 52 week low of $35.71 and a 52 week high of $53.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.81.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $409.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $403.05 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 25.83%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is 28.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on OZK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.38.

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.