AXQ Capital LP Sells 27,054 Shares of Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• AXQ Capital LP cut its Bank OZK stake by 59.3% in the second quarter, selling 27,054 shares and retaining 18,539 shares valued at approximately $966,000.
• Bank OZK reported quarterly EPS of $1.49, slightly exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 0.5% year over year to $430.02 million. The bank also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.48 per share and authorized a $200 million share-repurchase program.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $56.88; institutional investors collectively own 86.18% of the company.

AXQ Capital LP trimmed its holdings in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,539 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,054 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP's holdings in Bank OZK were worth $966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 34.9% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,437,646 shares of the company's stock worth $379,171,000 after buying an additional 1,924,387 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,809,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the second quarter worth about $63,410,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,556,105 shares of the company's stock worth $301,712,000 after buying an additional 546,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairholme Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 45.1% in the second quarter. Fairholme Capital Management LLC now owns 916,752 shares of the company's stock worth $43,142,000 after buying an additional 285,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Bank OZK Price Performance

NASDAQ:OZK opened at $50.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.78. Bank OZK has a 1 year low of $42.37 and a 1 year high of $53.66.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 24.95%.The company had revenue of $430.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. Bank OZK's quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

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 paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.74%.

Bank OZK announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, June 29th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on OZK shares. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Monday, August 17th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of Bank OZK from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.88.

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.

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