Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Buys 1,785 Shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 0.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 214,990 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,785 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $9,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of OZK. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 15,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 6,949 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the period. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter valued at $283,000. Arcus Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter worth about $269,000. Finally, KG&L Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 6,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank OZK Price Performance

OZK opened at $47.45 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.20. Bank OZK has a 12 month low of $34.76 and a 12 month high of $52.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.82.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.52. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 14.50% and a net margin of 27.04%. The company had revenue of $416.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $414.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 12th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 12th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. This is a positive change from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is presently 26.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on OZK shares. Citigroup downgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $57.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank OZK currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.29.

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.