Sei Investments Co. Purchases 103,556 Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 533,166 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 103,556 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.47% of Bank OZK worth $23,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank OZK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 176.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 761 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 948 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter valued at $93,000. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on OZK. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Bank OZK from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of 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 equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, Bank OZK presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.38.

Bank OZK Trading Down 2.8 %

Bank OZK stock traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.73. 1,978,277 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,268,725. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $48.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.14. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $37.43 and a twelve month high of $53.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. This is a positive change from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Bank OZK's payout ratio is currently 27.36%.

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.