Stifel Nicolaus Downgrades Bank of the Ozarks

Stifel Nicolaus is out with its report today on Bank of the Ozarks OZRK, downgrading OZRK from Buy to Hold. In a note to clients, Stifel Nicolaus writes, "We are downgrading the shares of Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. from Buy to Hold following second quarter 2011 reported earnings. Our downgrade is driven primarily by the significant outperformance of the shares YTD (up 20.8% vs a 2.7% average decline for the coverage group) that leaves the shares relatively fairly balanced, in our view, in terms of the risk reward spectrum." At the time of posting, shares of OZRK were trading pre-market at $51.94, down 0.75% from Thursday's close.