Bank OZK Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:OZK)

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 46,434 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 3,442% compared to the typical volume of 1,311 call options.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Bank OZK stock opened at $47.98 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Bank OZK has a 52-week low of $35.71 and a 52-week high of $53.66.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $449.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.93 million. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 13.00% and a net margin of 25.81%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is presently 29.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Bank OZK from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Bank OZK from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Bank OZK from $61.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank OZK

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Bank OZK by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,437,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,171,000 after buying an additional 1,924,387 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the 2nd quarter valued at about $68,960,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 767.1% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 566,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,667,000 after purchasing an additional 501,308 shares during the period. Senvest Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 24.4% in the second quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 1,581,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,429,000 after purchasing an additional 310,707 shares during the period. Finally, Fairholme Capital Management LLC increased its position in Bank OZK by 45.1% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

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.