Courtesy of Benzinga.
Bank Ozk (NASDAQ: OZK) reported first-quarter results April 17 that show a “relatively solid start” to 2019, highlighted by better-than-expected loan growth and net interest income, according to Raymond James.
The Analyst
Michael Rose maintains a Market Perform rating on Bank Ozk.
The Thesis
Bank Ozk held a conference call following its first-quarter report, and Rose shared 11 takeaways in a Friday note. (See the analyst’s track record here.)
- A higher level of prepayments compared to last year is factored into management’s low-to-mid-teen outlook for next year.
- Noninterest income and expenses in the first quarter are at “fairly good” run rates for the full year 2019.
- Around 98 percent of its floating rate loans have floors while 10 percent are at that floor.
- The core spread may turn negative for several quarters.
- CECL preparations are ongoing, and parallel modeling is likely to start in the third quarter.
- The loan-deposit ratio is expected to fall in the 89-99-percent range.
- Last year’s $1-billion growth in the marine and RV segment will likely be sustained moving forward, with the second quarter acting as a “watermark” period.
- The bank continues to view a stock buyback program as unlikely to occur.
- The increase in the cost of interest-bearing deposits might be lower than the 67-basis point increase seen last year.
- The CRE and construction concentration ratios are expected to continue moving lower.
- The disclosed watchlist credit at 102 percent LTV has around $50 million funded and should be fully repaid.
Price Action
Bank Ozk shares were trading up 1.06 percent at $31.37 at the time of publication Monday.
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Barclays On Bank Ozk: New Name, New Bearish Stance
Public domain photo via Wikimedia.
Latest Ratings for OZK
Date | Firm | Action | From | To |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jan 2019 | Barclays | Upgrades | Underweight | Equal-Weight |
Dec 2018 | Morgan Stanley | Maintains | Equal-Weight | Equal-Weight |
Dec 2018 | PiperJaffray | Downgrades | Overweight | Neutral |
View More Analyst Ratings for OZK
View the Latest Analyst Ratings
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