Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 27.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 134,793 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,227 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.12% of Bank OZK worth $6,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Bank OZK by 32.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,223,452 shares of the company's stock worth $181,566,000 after buying an additional 1,041,198 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Bank OZK by 124.6% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,698,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,034,000 after acquiring an additional 942,309 shares during the last quarter. Senvest Management LLC bought a new stake in Bank OZK during the third quarter valued at $22,306,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Bank OZK by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,106,907 shares of the company's stock worth $305,526,000 after acquiring an additional 485,172 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth about $14,077,000. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OZK traded down $0.41 during trading on Thursday, hitting $44.97. 599,034 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,231,200. Bank OZK has a 52-week low of $37.43 and a 52-week high of $53.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $48.31 and a 200 day moving average of $46.04. 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 company has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 1.23.

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Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $412.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $407.19 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 25.83%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Bank OZK's payout ratio is currently 27.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on OZK. Stephens upped their target price on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group assumed coverage on Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Bank OZK from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report 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 on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.38.

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.