Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Holdings in Bank OZK $OZK

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 234.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,598 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,196 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $4,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 34.9% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,437,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,924,387 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,809,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Bank OZK by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,556,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,712,000 after purchasing an additional 546,785 shares during the last quarter. Fairholme Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 45.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fairholme Capital Management LLC now owns 916,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,142,000 after purchasing an additional 285,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in Bank OZK in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,014,000. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.25.

Bank OZK Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Bank OZK stock opened at $50.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.97. The company has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.17 and a beta of 0.89. Bank OZK has a fifty-two week low of $42.37 and a fifty-two week high of $53.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.27% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The business had revenue of $424.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $422.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. Bank OZK’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.62%.

Bank OZK announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, June 29th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically 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.