AGP Franklin LLC Takes $486,000 Position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

AGP Franklin LLC purchased a new position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $486,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in OZK. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 176.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 761 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 81.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Bank OZK Stock Up 5.8 %

Shares of OZK traded up $2.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.63. The stock had a trading volume of 2,706,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,334,284. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.80. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $35.71 and a twelve month high of $53.64.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The company had revenue of $409.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. This is a positive change from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on OZK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.38.

About Bank OZK

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.