Correction: Bank of the Ozarks’ growth in loans, excluding loans from acquisitions, was 9.4 percent in the fourth quarter. This article incorrectly described the time frame for the growth.
Bank of the Ozarks' fourth-quarter earnings last year were $34.8 million, up 42 percent from $24.4 million in the same period of 2013, the Little Rock-based bank said Thursday.
The bank's earnings per share were 43 cents for the quarter, a 30 percent gain from 33 cents in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Bank of the Ozarks earned $118.6 million last year, 30 percent higher than the $91.2 million of net income it had in 2013.
Its share price closed at $32.55 Thursday, up 69 cents, on almost double its average volume on the Nasdaq exchange.
Bank of the Ozarks had "a phenomenal year," said Matt Olney, a banking analyst for Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
The bank had two of the largest deals in its history in 2014, Olney said.
It paid $216 million for Summit Bank of Arkadelphia, which had $1.2 billion in assets and 24 offices. It paid $228 million for Intervest Bancshares of New York, which had $1.6 billion in assets with one office in New York and six in west-central Florida.
The Summit Bank purchase closed last year. Intervest is to close next month.
Bank of the Ozarks' growth in loans, excluding loans from acquisitions, was 9.4 percent last year.
Its stock price has risen about 18 percent since the beginning of last year.
The acquisitions and the loan growth are the reasons why the stock has increased as it has, Olney said.
"I expect [Bank of the Ozarks] to continue to have good loan growth in 2015 -- and a lot of growth will be from [acquisitions] if they continue to find these really good transactions like they did in 2014," Olney said.
Bank of the Ozarks saw record growth in loans and deposits for the year, George Gleason, chairman of Bank of the Ozarks, said in a prepared statement.
The bank was holding $5.1 billion in loans and leases at the end of the year, up 53 percent from $3.4 billion a year earlier. Deposits totaled $5.5 billion at the end of the year, up 48 percent compared with $3.7 billion at the end of 2013.
Total assets rose to $6.8 billion at the end of last year, up 41 percent from $4.8 billion a year earlier.
"Our team of bankers was, once again, hitting on all cylinders," Gleason said in a statement.
Bank of the Ozarks has 159 offices -- 81 in Arkansas, 28 in Georgia, 21 in Texas, 17 in North Carolina, five in Florida, three in Alabama, two in South Carolina, and one office each in New York and California.
Bank of the Ozarks' executives will discuss the fourth-quarter report in a conference call today at 10 a.m. The discussion can be accessed by dialing (888) 771-4371 and asking for the Bank of the Ozarks conference call.
Business on 01/16/2015