Bank OZK (OZK – Research Report), the Financial sector company, was revisited by a Wall Street analyst today. Analyst Manan Gosalia from Morgan Stanley maintained a Hold rating on the stock and has a $48.00 price target.
Manan Gosalia has given his Hold rating due to a combination of factors impacting Bank OZK. The bank showed better-than-expected performance in net interest income (NII) and net interest margin (NIM), with first-quarter earnings per share (EPS) surpassing both Morgan Stanley and consensus estimates. However, there are some negative credit trends, such as increased charge-offs and the migration of certain loans to substandard categories, which pose potential risks for future provisioning.
Despite the positive financial results, the negative migration of larger credits and the potential for additional charge-offs due to the current economic environment are concerning. The bank’s asset sensitivity could also be affected by future Federal Reserve rate cuts, which might impact NIM adversely. Given these mixed signals, Gosalia maintains a conservative outlook on future provisions, leading to the Hold rating.
In another report released on April 17, KBW also maintained a Hold rating on the stock with a $50.00 price target.