Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 34.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 669,074 shares of the company’s stock after selling 346,005 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.59% of Bank OZK worth $29,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in OZK. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 176.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 761 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 81.3% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Bank OZK by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:OZK opened at $42.94 on Friday. Bank OZK has a 1-year low of $37.43 and a 1-year high of $53.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.23.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.12. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $412.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $407.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. Bank OZK’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Bank OZK from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank OZK currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.38.

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.