Have Bank OZK Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We wouldn't blame Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Tim Hicks, the Chief Financial Officer recently netted about US$504k selling shares at an average price of US$50.37. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 12%, which is notable but not too bad.

View our latest analysis for Bank OZK

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Bank OZK

Notably, that recent sale by Tim Hicks is the biggest insider sale of Bank OZK shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of US$50.93. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 12% of Tim Hicks's holding.

Bank OZK insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insider Ownership Of Bank OZK

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Bank OZK insiders own 6.4% of the company, worth about US$372m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Bank OZK Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought Bank OZK stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But it is good to see that Bank OZK is growing earnings. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. While conducting our analysis, we found that Bank OZK has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.