Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Stake in Bank OZK $OZK

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 57.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,614 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,984 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Bank OZK were worth $1,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Bank OZK by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 11,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Bank OZK by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 48,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,254,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 38,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. 86.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on OZK shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Bank OZK from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. TD Cowen cut their price target on Bank OZK from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Bank OZK Price Performance

Shares of OZK opened at $50.33 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32 and a beta of 0.89. Bank OZK has a twelve month low of $42.37 and a twelve month high of $53.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $50.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.29.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Bank OZK had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 24.95%.The business had revenue of $430.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, June 29th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.74%.

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.