Van Berkom & Associates Inc. Decreases Stake in Bank OZK $OZK

Van Berkom & Associates Inc. reduced its position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 7.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,724,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 145,032 shares during the quarter. Bank OZK comprises 2.6% of Van Berkom & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Van Berkom & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $79,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Bank OZK by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,625,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,045,000 after purchasing an additional 38,592 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 212,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,762,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 231,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,631,000 after buying an additional 24,485 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in Bank OZK by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 13,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 2,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Bank OZK by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 385,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,808,000 after buying an additional 101,451 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

NASDAQ OZK opened at $52.01 on Monday. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $42.37 and a 1 year high of $53.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.15.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $424.32 million during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.27%.

Bank OZK declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, June 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on OZK shares. UBS Group began coverage on Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.25.

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.