Readystate Asset Management LP Makes New $755,000 Investment in Bank OZK $OZK

Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 16,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. BOKF NA bought a new position in Bank OZK during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Bank OZK by 100.5% in the 4th quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bank OZK by 111.2% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Bank OZK Stock Up 0.1%

OZK stock opened at $51.55 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $50.22 and a 200 day moving average of $48.37. The firm has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 0.89. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $42.37 and a twelve month high of $53.66. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $430.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.42 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 24.95%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK declared that its board has initiated 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 13th. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is 31.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on OZK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.38.

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.