Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Takes $1.57 Million Position in Bank OZK $OZK

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 34,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,567,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in OZK. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank OZK during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. BOKF NA bought a new stake in shares of Bank OZK during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 100.5% in the fourth quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 111.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on OZK. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank OZK from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.33.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Bank OZK stock opened at $49.84 on Friday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.92.

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

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.62%.

Bank OZK declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, June 29th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management 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.