Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases 26,439 Shares of Bank OZK $OZK

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its Bank OZK stake by 61.3% in the first quarter, buying 26,439 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 69,561 shares worth about $3.19 million.
• Several analysts updated their views on the stock, with TD Cowen downgrading Bank OZK to hold while the consensus rating remains Hold and the average price target is $56.44.
• Bank OZK reported quarterly EPS of $1.44, slightly below expectations, while also raising its dividend to $0.48 per share and authorizing a $200 million share repurchase plan.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 61.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,561 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,439 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned about 0.06% of Bank OZK worth $3,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank OZK in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. BOKF NA acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 100.5% during the 4th quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 766 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on OZK. TD Cowen cut Bank OZK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $53.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Bank OZK from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.44.

Bank OZK Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ OZK traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $50.10. 219,470 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,261,331. Bank OZK has a 12 month low of $42.37 and a 12 month high of $53.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.89.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.27% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The company had revenue of $424.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $422.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.62%.

Bank OZK declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, June 29th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank OZK 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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