Citigroup Inc. Raises Stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 290,787 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,265 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $12,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OZK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 5.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 62,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,839,000 after purchasing an additional 3,301 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Bank OZK by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the first quarter valued at $60,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 423.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in Bank OZK by 2,027.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 9,288 shares during the period. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Stock Up 0.1 %

OZK stock opened at $49.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Bank OZK has a 52 week low of $37.43 and a 52 week high of $52.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.92 and a 200 day moving average of $43.30.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.02. Bank OZK had a net margin of 26.07% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $423.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $419.08 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James cut Bank OZK from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.50.

Bank OZK Company 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.