Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Stake Lowered by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 124,034 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,657 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.11% of Bank OZK worth $5,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of OZK. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 30.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 254,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,958,000 after purchasing an additional 59,907 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,022,979 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,989,000 after buying an additional 126,352 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Bank OZK by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,758 shares of the company's stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 342,417 shares of the company's stock worth $15,248,000 after buying an additional 5,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Bank OZK in the fourth quarter valued at $307,000. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on OZK. UBS Group started coverage on Bank OZK in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Stephens upped their target price on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.38.

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Bank OZK Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:OZK traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.24. The company had a trading volume of 2,112,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,673. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.90. The firm has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 1.05. Bank OZK has a 1-year low of $35.71 and a 1-year high of $53.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $412.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $407.19 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Bank OZK's payout ratio is currently 28.01%.

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.