Readystate Asset Management LP Acquires New Holdings in Bank OZK $OZK

Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 16,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,437,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,171,000 after buying an additional 1,924,387 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Bank OZK by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,625,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,045,000 after acquiring an additional 38,592 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Bank OZK by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,556,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,712,000 after acquiring an additional 546,785 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Bank OZK by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,554,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,576,000 after purchasing an additional 73,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Bank OZK by 4.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,036,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,327,000 after purchasing an additional 134,490 shares during the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OZK opened at $51.55 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $50.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 0.89. Bank OZK has a 52-week low of $42.37 and a 52-week high of $53.66.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $430.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 13th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 13th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.74%.

Bank OZK announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, June 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OZK has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.