AXQ Capital LP Buys 19,816 Shares of Bank OZK $OZK

AXQ Capital LP lifted its stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 128.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,220 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,816 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $1,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in Bank OZK in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased 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 acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the third quarter worth $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on OZK shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.89.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OZK opened at $47.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.13. Bank OZK has a 1-year low of $42.37 and a 1-year high of $53.66. The company has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Bank OZK Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th were issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.62%.

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.