On May 23, 2023 at 12:10:31 ET an unusually large $470.00K block of Put contracts in Bank OZK (OZK) was sold, with a strike price of $35.00 / share, expiring in 59 day(s) (on July 21, 2023). Fintel tracks all large options trades, and the premium spent on this trade was 1.18 sigmas above the mean, placing it in the 87.34th percentile of all recent large trades made in OZK options.

This trade was first picked up on Fintel’s real time Options Flow tool, where unusual option trades are highlighted.

What is the Fund Sentiment?

There are 816 funds or institutions reporting positions in Bank OZK. This is an increase of 9 owner(s) or 1.12% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to OZK is 0.22%, a decrease of 8.24%. Total shares owned by institutions increased in the last three months by 3.65% to 115,409K shares. The put/call ratio of OZK is 3.52, indicating a bearish outlook.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 19.54% Upside

As of May 11, 2023, the average one-year price target for Bank OZK is 42.71. The forecasts range from a low of 35.35 to a high of $58.80. The average price target represents an increase of 19.54% from its latest reported closing price of 35.73.

See our leaderboard of companies with the largest price target upside.

The projected annual revenue for Bank OZK is 1,398MM, an increase of 15.41%. The projected annual non-GAAP EPS is 5.26.

What are Other Shareholders Doing?

Wasatch Advisors holds 8,262K shares representing 7.20% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 8,381K shares, representing a decrease of 1.44%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in OZK by 22.16% over the last quarter.

SDY – SPDR(R) S&P(R) Dividend ETF holds 5,633K shares representing 4.91% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 6,633K shares, representing a decrease of 17.75%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in OZK by 26.26% over the last quarter.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management holds 4,929K shares representing 4.30% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 0K shares, representing an increase of 100.00%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in OZK by 2,187,165.13% over the last quarter.

IJH – iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF holds 3,418K shares representing 2.98% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 3,250K shares, representing an increase of 4.93%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in OZK by 7.03% over the last quarter.

VTSMX – Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 3,401K shares representing 2.97% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 3,329K shares, representing an increase of 2.12%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in OZK by 4.46% over the last quarter.

Bank OZK Declares $0.35 Dividend

On April 3, 2023 the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share ($1.40 annualized). Shareholders of record as of April 14, 2023 received the payment on April 21, 2023. Previously, the company paid $0.33 per share.

At the current share price of $35.73 / share, the stock’s dividend yield is 3.92%.

Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 3.28%, the lowest has been 1.59%, and the highest has been 6.60%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.87 (n=236).

The current dividend yield is 0.74 standard deviations above the historical average.

Additionally, the company’s dividend payout ratio is 0.27. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company’s income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company’s income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend – not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company’s 3-Year dividend growth rate is 0.30%, demonstrating that it has increased its dividend over time.

Bank OZK Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

Bank OZK is a regional bank providing innovative financial solutions delivered by expert bankers with a relentless pursuit of excellence. Established in 1903, Bank OZK conducts banking operations through more than 250 offices in eight states including Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, New York, California and Mississippi and had $27.16 billion in total assets as of December 31, 2020.

This article originally appeared on Fintel

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