Merit Financial Group LLC Makes New $307,000 Investment in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $307,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Bank OZK during the 4th quarter valued at $227,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,555 shares of the company's stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank OZK by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 5,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Bank OZK by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 56,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank OZK Price Performance

OZK traded up $0.06 on Friday, hitting $50.93. 941,706 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,314,049. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Bank OZK has a 12 month low of $37.43 and a 12 month high of $51.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.59.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $412.34 million during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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 report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens boosted their price target 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. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Bank OZK from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.00.

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.