News in brief

Truckers group hails bill on driver dearth

The American Trucking Associations applauded U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., for introducing a bill intended to address the driver shortage in the trucking industry.

The Commercial Driver Act, introduced earlier this week, would establish a pilot program allowing states to enter into interstate compacts that lower the age restrictions for commercial driver's license holders. Federal law requires drivers to be over age 21 to operate across state lines, while states permit 18-year-olds to drive trucks on intrastate routes.

It is "illogical that a 20-year-old can drive the 500 miles from San Francisco to San Diego but not the 8 miles from Memphis, Tenn., to West Memphis," said Bill Graves, president of the American Trucking Association.

The organization estimates that companies will need to recruit nearly 100,000 new drivers a year over the next decade to keep pace with freight needs.

-- Robbie Neiswanger

3rd firm downgrades Bank of Ozarks stock

The investment firm of Drexel Hamilton on Friday downgraded its rating on Bank of the Ozarks' stock from a buy to a hold, one of several adjustments in ratings on the Little Rock bank in the past month.

Bank of the Ozarks' stock fell 14 cents to close Friday at $47.75 in trading on the Nasdaq exchange. The stock has ranged from $29.14 to $48.68 in the past 52 weeks.

Other firms also changing their ratings this week on Bank of the Ozarks were Wunderlich, from a buy to a hold; and FIG Partners, from the equivalent of buy to hold. Wunderlich currently has a target price of $48 on Bank of the Ozarks, up from the previous price objective of $47.00

Nine analysts covering Bank of the Ozarks have an average rating of hold, with with two recommending buy and one with a strong buy rating, according to Thomson Reuters.

-- David Smith

11 stocks lower, 7 up, state index falls

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 1.65 to 372.94 Friday.

Eleven stocks declined, and seven advanced.

Shares of Communications Sales & Leasing lost 6.7 percent in heavy trading.

Simmons First National, Home BancShares and Deltic Timber each hit 52-week highs Friday.

For the week, 11 stocks stocks declined, six advanced, and one was unchanged.

Bear State Financial rose 6.1 percent for the week, and Windstream fell 13.3 percent.

Volume of the index was 30 million shares. Average daily volume for the week was 22.1 million shares.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business on 06/27/2015

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