Giverny Capital Inc. Increases Holdings in Bank OZK $OZK

Giverny Capital Inc. boosted its position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 4.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,258,996 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 49,483 shares during the period. Bank OZK makes up approximately 2.0% of Giverny Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Giverny Capital Inc.’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $59,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Bank OZK by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the second quarter worth $44,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 1,114.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Bank OZK during the second quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on OZK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen began coverage on Bank OZK in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Bank OZK from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.75.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

NASDAQ OZK opened at $46.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.42 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.18 and a 200 day moving average of $48.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $35.71 and a twelve month high of $53.66.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.07). Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.81% and a return on equity of 13.00%. The business had revenue of $449.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 14th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 14th. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is 29.03%.

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.