ProShare Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Bank OZK $OZK

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 723,080 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,531 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $33,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 11,310 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 46,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 5,717 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 1.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 60,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,609,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 8.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 349,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,197,000 after buying an additional 26,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Bank OZK by 11.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 1,756 shares during the period. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OZK opened at $48.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $46.65 and a 200 day moving average of $46.93. The firm has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a PE ratio of 7.86 and a beta of 0.91. Bank OZK has a one year low of $42.37 and a one year high of $53.66.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.27% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The company had revenue of $424.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $422.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on OZK shares. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Bank OZK from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler set a $62.00 price target on Bank OZK in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Bank OZK from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.89.

About Bank OZK

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.