Bank OZK $OZK Shares Bought by Caxton Associates LLP

Caxton Associates LLP grew its position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 57.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,816 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,307 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $1,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank OZK during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. BOKF NA acquired a new stake in Bank OZK in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 100.5% in the 4th quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Bank OZK by 111.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OZK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bank OZK from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Bank OZK Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of OZK stock opened at $50.33 on Friday. Bank OZK has a fifty-two week low of $42.37 and a fifty-two week high of $53.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.32 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Bank OZK had a net margin of 24.95% and a return on equity of 11.87%. The business had revenue of $430.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

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

Bank OZK announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, June 29th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Bank OZK

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.