Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in Bank OZK $OZK

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 21,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $985,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Bank OZK in the 3rd quarter worth $1,301,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 21.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 285,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,574,000 after acquiring an additional 51,171 shares during the period. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 37.1% during the third quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 125,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,412,000 after acquiring an additional 34,049 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,137,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of Bank OZK by 179.7% in the third quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 37,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 24,319 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank OZK Price Performance

NASDAQ OZK opened at $49.26 on Monday. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $42.37 and a twelve month high of $53.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $424.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $422.62 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.27% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 13th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OZK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. UBS Group began coverage on Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Bank OZK from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Bank OZK from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.89.

Bank OZK Company Profile

Bank OZK, formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks, is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Established in 1903, the bank offers a full suite of banking products and services to both individual and corporate clients. Through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions, Bank OZK has built a diversified lending portfolio and a strong deposit franchise.

The bank’s core operations focus on commercial real estate lending, including acquisition, development and construction financing.