Vestcor Inc Invests $345,000 in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $345,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of OZK. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Bank OZK by 176.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 761 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 73.8% in the 3rd 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. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 81.3% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank OZK Price Performance

NASDAQ:OZK opened at $44.26 on Tuesday. Bank OZK has a 12-month low of $37.43 and a 12-month high of $53.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $407.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bank OZK from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank OZK has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.38.

Bank OZK 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.