Traders Buy High Volume of Bank OZK Put Options (NASDAQ:OZK)

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 5,033 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 281% compared to the typical volume of 1,321 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on OZK. Zacks Research cut shares of Bank OZK from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen started coverage on Bank OZK in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Bank OZK from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.75.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of Bank OZK stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.99. 94,124 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 897,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.78. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $35.71 and a twelve month high of $53.66. The company has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 7.60 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is 29.03%.

Institutional Trading of Bank OZK

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 58.2% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Bank OZK by 20.8% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 82.2% during the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 665 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 1.9% in the second quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $791,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank OZK Company 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.