M&G Plc Raises Stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

M&G Plc grew its holdings in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 210,801 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,309 shares during the quarter. M&G Plc’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $8,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in OZK. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Bank OZK by 229.7% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 38,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,913,000 after buying an additional 26,741 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Bank OZK by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 29,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 7,354 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,475,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 27,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 98.3% during the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 28,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 13,951 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank OZK Trading Up 1.7 %

Bank OZK stock opened at $40.63 on Wednesday. Bank OZK has a one year low of $34.76 and a one year high of $52.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.67 and its 200 day moving average is $43.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 6.81 and a beta of 1.20.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52. Bank OZK had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $416.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $414.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 12th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 12th. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is currently 26.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on OZK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup cut Bank OZK from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $57.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com raised Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Bank OZK from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.71.

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.