Bank OZK $OZK Shares Purchased by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 1,769.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 193,679 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 183,321 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 0.17% of Bank OZK worth $8,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 1.4% during the third quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 48,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,254,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 0.6% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 51,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,641,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 100.5% during the fourth quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

OZK opened at $48.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 0.91. Bank OZK has a 52-week low of $42.37 and a 52-week high of $53.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.95.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $424.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $422.62 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.27% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 13th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on OZK. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.89.

Bank OZK Profile

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.