Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stock Position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 31.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,829 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,049 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.07% of Bank OZK worth $3,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in OZK. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 246,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,586,000 after buying an additional 9,385 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 6,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares during the last quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 19,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $855,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 64,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,704,000 after purchasing an additional 7,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 4,233.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 57,455 shares of the company's stock worth $2,470,000 after buying an additional 56,129 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OZK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bank OZK from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens boosted 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.00.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Bank OZK stock traded down $2.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.34. 390,962 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,357,875. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.70 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.38. Bank OZK has a 12 month low of $37.43 and a 12 month high of $53.64. 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 (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. This is an increase from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.