Verition Fund Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 68.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,869 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,189 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in Bank OZK were worth $1,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in OZK. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Bank OZK by 2,027.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,746 shares of the company's stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 9,288 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $873,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Bank OZK during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,623,000. Finally, M&G Plc lifted its position in Bank OZK by 12.4% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 210,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,643,000 after acquiring an additional 23,309 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Bank OZK from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James cut Bank OZK from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.13.

Bank OZK Price Performance

NASDAQ OZK traded up $0.14 on Friday, hitting $47.49. The company had a trading volume of 527,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,159,028. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 1.18. Bank OZK has a 12-month low of $37.43 and a 12-month high of $52.36. The company's fifty day moving average price is $45.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.31.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $423.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $419.08 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 26.07% and a return on equity of 14.15%. As a group, analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. This is a boost 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 3.45%. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.97%.

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.