New York State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,412 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,213 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.12% of Bank OZK worth $5,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of OZK. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Bank OZK by 30.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 254,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,958,000 after acquiring an additional 59,907 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bank OZK by 6.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,022,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,989,000 after acquiring an additional 126,352 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bank OZK by 68.6% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 34,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 14,189 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Bank OZK by 112.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 51,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after acquiring an additional 27,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the third quarter valued at approximately $529,000. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Bank OZK stock opened at $50.51 on Thursday. Bank OZK has a one year low of $37.43 and a one year high of $53.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 1.20.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.12. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 25.83%. The firm had revenue of $412.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $407.19 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OZK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Bank OZK from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens raised their target price on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, 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 for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.00.

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.