Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stock Position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 31.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,829 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,049 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.07% of Bank OZK worth $3,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 76.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 83,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,715,000 after buying an additional 36,266 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 46,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,083,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the fourth quarter valued at $2,626,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter valued at $275,000. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Bank OZK Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Bank OZK stock opened at $50.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $37.43 and a 1 year high of $53.64. The firm has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.36.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $412.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $407.19 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 boost 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on OZK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bank OZK from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.