Artemis Investment Management LLP Decreases Holdings in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Artemis Investment Management LLP lessened its stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 84,173 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,194 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned about 0.07% of Bank OZK worth $3,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank OZK by 73.8% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the second quarter worth about $49,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the third quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Bank OZK by 424.8% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of Bank OZK stock opened at $49.74 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Bank OZK has a 52 week low of $37.43 and a 52 week high of $51.50. The company has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 1.20.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.12. Bank OZK had a net margin of 26.07% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $412.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $407.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Bank OZK from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. 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 for the company. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.50.

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.