Post Earnings Coverage as Bank of the Ozarks Q1 EPS Surged 28.1%; Outshined Expectations

Upcoming AWS Coverage on BancorpSouth Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. (NASDAQ: OZRK). The Company announced its financial results for the first quarter fiscal 2017 (Q1 FY17) on April 11, 2017. Bank of the Ozarks' diluted EPS rose 28.1% y-o-y, outperforming market forecasts. Register with us now for your free membership at: http://www.activewallst.com/register/.

One of Bank of the Ozarks' competitors within the Regional - Southeast Banks space, BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE: BXS), reports Q1 2017 earnings results on Wednesday, April 19, after the close of the financial markets. AWS will be initiating a research report on BancorpSouth in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on OZRK; touching on BXS. Get our free coverage by signing up to: http://www.activewallst.com/register/.

Earnings Reviewed

During the quarter ended March 31, 2017, Bank of the Ozarks' net interest income surged 69.5% to $190.77 million from $112.52 million in Q1 FY16. Furthermore, net interest income on fully taxable equivalent (FTE) basis came in at $194.37 million in Q1 FY17 compared to $114.43 million in Q1 FY16. The Company's non-interest income also increased 46.3% to $29.06 million in Q1 FY17 from $19.87 million in the year ago same quarter. Meanwhile, the non-interest expenses were up by 64.1% to $78.27 million in Q1 FY17 from $47.69 million in Q1 FY16.

The Little Rock, Arkansas-based bank reported a record net income available to common stockholders of $89.19 million, or $0.73 per diluted common share, in Q1 FY17, versus $51.69 million, or $0.57 per diluted common share, in Q1 FY16. Wall Street had expected the Company to report net income of $0.71 per diluted share.

Earnings Metrics

During the reported quarter, the bank's annualized return on average assets was 1.93% versus 1.98% in the prior year's comparable quarter. The return on average common stockholders' equity came in at 12.80% in Q1 FY17 compared to 14.00% reported in the year ago same period. Furthermore, annualized returns on average tangible common stockholders' equity stood at 17.17% in Q1 FY17, which came in above 15.59% reported in the year ago same quarter. For Q1 FY17, the bank's efficiency ratio was 35.03% compared to 35.51% in Q1 FY16.

Net interest margin on FTE basis for the reported quarter stood at 4.88% compared to 4.92% in Q1 FY16. The bank's yield on total earning assets improved during Q1 FY17 to 5.46% from 5.32% in the year ago comparable period. In Q1 FY17, average total earning assets surged to $16.14 billion from $9.36 billion in the previous year's corresponding quarter.

The Company's allowance for loan and lease losses for its non-purchased loans and leases was $76.6 million, or 0.75% of total non-purchased loans and leases, at March 31, 2017, compared to $60.6 million, or 0.80% of total non-purchased loans and leases, at March 31, 2016.

Balance Sheet Analyzed

Bank of the Ozarks' average non-purchased loans and leases surged to $10.22 billion during quarter ended March 31, 2017, from $7.59 billion in Q1 FY16. Total average interest bearing deposits were $12.80 billion as on March 31, 2017, compared to $7.21 billion recorded as on March 31, 2016. Furthermore, the bank had total assets worth $18.75 billion as on March 31, 2017, up from $10.49 billion as on March 31, 2016.

As on March 31, 2017, the Banks's non-performing assets to total assets was 0.25% compared to 0.29% as at end of last year's quarter. Furthermore, net charge-offs to average total loans and leases stood at 0.09% as on March 31, 2017, versus 0.05% as on March 31, 2016.

Dividend

In the a separate press release on April 03, 2017, the Company's Board of Directors announced a $0.005 per common share, or 2.94% hike in the quarterly cash dividend to $0.175 per common share. The dividend will be payable on April 21, 2017 to shareholders of record as of April 14, 2017. Furthermore, the Company has increased the quarterly cash dividend in each of the last twenty-seven quarters.

Stock Performance

At the close of trading session on Tuesday, April 18, 2017, Bank of the Ozarks' share price finished the trading session at $47.48, slightly down 0.21%. A total volume of 1.24 million shares exchanged hands, which was higher than the 3 months average volume of 1.19 million shares. The stock has surged 28.23% and 8.86% in the last six months and past twelve months, respectively. The stock is trading at a PE ratio of 17.51 and has a dividend yield of 1.47%.

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SOURCE: Active Wall Street