Giverny Capital Inc. Reduces Holdings in Bank OZK $OZK

Giverny Capital Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,198,116 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,943 shares during the quarter. Bank OZK makes up about 2.1% of Giverny Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Giverny Capital Inc. owned approximately 1.07% of Bank OZK worth $62,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Bank OZK by 37.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 11,310 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Bank OZK by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 46,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,029,000 after acquiring an additional 5,717 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 60,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 349,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,197,000 after purchasing an additional 26,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Bank OZK by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares during the period. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of Bank OZK stock opened at $50.43 on Monday. Bank OZK has a fifty-two week low of $42.37 and a fifty-two week high of $53.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.73 and a 200 day moving average of $48.78.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 24.95%.The business had revenue of $430.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $436.42 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, June 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 13th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on OZK shares. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Bank OZK from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.88.

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.