Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Bank OZK $OZK

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 258,651 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,362 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $13,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 20.8% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in Bank OZK by 82.2% in the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Bank OZK by 1.9% in the second quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $791,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

OZK opened at $47.16 on Friday. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $35.71 and a twelve month high of $53.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 7.61 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average is $45.88 and its 200-day moving average is $48.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.07). Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.81% and a return on equity of 13.00%. The business had revenue of $449.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. On average, analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 14th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 14th. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is 29.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OZK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bankshares set a $67.00 target price on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Zacks Research cut Bank OZK from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.75.

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.