What Happened?
Shares of regional banking company Bank OZK (NASDAQ: OZK) jumped 4.1% in the afternoon session after Wall Street firm Raymond James upgraded the stock.
Analysts at Raymond James boosted their rating on the regional bank to "Outperform" from "Market Perform" and set a new price target of $58.00, suggesting a potential 15% upside from its current price.
The firm's confidence stems from several factors, including a positive outlook on loan growth and the benefit of maturing time deposits repricing at lower rates. Raymond James also pointed to Bank OZK's ongoing share buybacks, including a new $200 million program, and its 60th consecutive quarterly dividend increase as reasons for the positive view. This series of dividend hikes has earned the bank a spot in the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats index.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $52.31, up 3.7% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Bank OZK’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 7 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
Bank OZK is up 19.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $52.31 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $53.10 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Bank OZK’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,346.
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