UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Bank OZK $OZK

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its holdings in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 297,669 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,260 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.27% of Bank OZK worth $15,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Bank OZK by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in Bank OZK by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 11,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Bank OZK by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in Bank OZK by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 38,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,761,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on OZK. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Monday, August 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Bank OZK from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.88.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OZK opened at $50.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.78. Bank OZK has a 52 week low of $42.37 and a 52 week high of $53.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.88.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Bank OZK had a net margin of 24.95% and a return on equity of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $430.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 13th. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is presently 31.74%.

Bank OZK announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, June 29th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK, formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks, is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Established in 1903, the bank offers a full suite of banking products and services to both individual and corporate clients. Through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions, Bank OZK has built a diversified lending portfolio and a strong deposit franchise.

The bank’s core operations focus on commercial real estate lending, including acquisition, development and construction financing.