<\/p>\n
Jim Cramer changes his mind about stocks fairly often, and he does not apologize for it.<\/p>\n
That habit was on display again this week, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, when a caller on the “Lightning Round” segment of CNBC’s “Mad Money” asked him about a regional bank headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana.<\/p>\n
His answer was quick and direct: buy, buy, buy.<\/p>\n
The stock is Origin Bancorp (OBK), a commercial bank that operates across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cramer has gone from bullish to lukewarm to bullish again on the name over the past seven months, and each shift has closely mirrored the bank’s results.<\/p>\n
For investors, the more useful question is whether the numbers behind his call hold up, and what the risks look like for anyone buying now.<\/p>\n
Why Jim Cramer flipped back to a buy on Origin Bancorp<\/p>\n
Cramer’s view on Origin Bancorp has moved three times this year, and each move followed the bank’s financial performance, rather than a change in strategy.<\/p>\n
In January, he called the stock a winner and told a viewer to stay in it and buy more on any pullback.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By March, as oil prices swung and worries about regional banks grew, he cooled off, describing it as okay but not compelling enough for him to own.<\/p>\n
This week, he returned to a clear buy. He praised Origin as a great regional bank trading at 13 times earnings, according to CNBC.<\/p>\n
More Jim Cramer Coverage:<\/p>\n
Jim Cramer sends strong signal to stock market investorsJim Cramer says buy Astera Labs stock after 40% dropJim Cramer says one popular stock is meant to be owned, not traded<\/p>\n
Cramer tends to warm up to bank stocks when profits grow faster than the stock price.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That combination lowers the price-to-earnings ratio, which is one way to measure whether a stock is cheap or expensive relative to its earnings.<\/p>\n
That is what happened with Origin over the summer. The bank’s profits jumped, the stock followed, and the multiple stayed reasonable enough to pull Cramer back in.<\/p>\n
The record second-quarter earnings behind the surge in OBK stock<\/p>\n
Cramer’s renewed enthusiasm rests on a strong second-quarter report that Origin released on July 22.<\/p>\n
The bank posted diluted earnings of $1.09 per share, beating the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.00, according to its earnings release.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was OBK’s strongest quarterly result since late 2021.<\/p>\n
Net income reached $33.8 million, up from $27.7 million in the first quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n
A few figures explain the jump.<\/p>\n
Origin’s second-quarter 2026 highlightsNet interest margin: expanded 21 basis points to 3.92%, its highest level in years. This is the gap between what the bank earns on loans and what it pays on deposits, and a wider margin means more profit on the same lending.Net interest income: rose 5.7% to $92.2 million.Return on average assets: reached 1.35%, already above the bank’s own near-term target of 1.15%.Loan growth: loans held for investment grew 2.7% from the prior quarter to $8.07 billion.<\/p>\n
Origin charged more for its loans. At the same time, it didn’t have to pay depositors much more to keep their money in the bank.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That gap between what Origin earns and what it pays out is the bank’s core profit engine, and it just got wider.<\/p>\n
Origin Bancorp operates across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.<\/p>\n
SOPA Images / Getty Images<\/p>\n
What the OBK dividend hike and buyback signal to shareholders<\/p>\n
Beyond the quarterly numbers, Origin’s board has taken two steps that usually point to management confidence.<\/p>\n
In April, the board raised the quarterly dividend from $0.15 to $0.25 per share, a 67% increase. At the current share price, that works out to a yield of about 1.8%.<\/p>\n
The board also expanded its share repurchase authorization by $100 million in July, leaving $121.6 million available through July 2028, according to a press release.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Related: Jim Cramer says he’s steering clear of one popular stock<\/p>\n
Origin bought back 217,034 shares during the second quarter at an average price of $46.60.<\/p>\n
Buybacks reduce the number of shares outstanding, which lifts earnings per share and often signals that management believes the stock is undervalued.<\/p>\n
For income-focused investors, the dividend increase is important.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A bank willing to raise its payout by two-thirds in a single year is telling shareholders it expects its higher earnings to last.<\/p>\n
Where Wall Street analysts stand on Origin Bancorp stock<\/p>\n
Cramer is not alone in liking the name. Several analysts raised their price targets after the earnings report.<\/p>\n
Raymond James lifted its target to $56 from $50, and Piper Sandler moved to $56 from $55. The average 12-month target across covering analysts sits at $57.33.<\/p>\n
The consensus rating is a Buy, with most analysts recommending the stock and none advising a sale.<\/p>\n
That said, targets are estimates, not guarantees. They reflect where analysts think the stock could trade if the bank keeps executing, and they move quickly when results disappoint.<\/p>\n
Origin Bancorp closed at $54.98 on Aug. 4, up 6.9% over the past month and 46.1% year to date.<\/p>\n
The risks Origin Bancorp investors should weigh before buying<\/p>\n
The bullish case is clear, but buying after a run like this carries specific risks.<\/p>\n
Trading near the top of its range. At about $55, Origin sits close to the top of its 52-week range of $32.12 to $55.57. Buying at the high end leaves less room for gains and more exposure if the broader banking sector pulls back.The “Cramer effect” cuts both ways. A “buy, buy, buy” call can drive a short-term pop in trading volume, but Cramer’s rapid-fire Lightning Round picks have a mixed record. Some investors deliberately fade his calls, and following media attention without checking a bank’s balance sheet can be risky.Regional banks stay sensitive to rates and credit. Origin’s markets in Texas and Louisiana carry exposure to energy-linked lending, and a downturn in oil or a shift in interest rates could pressure the margins that just expanded.<\/p>\n
For readers considering the stock, the strong earnings report is a reason to take a closer look at Origin Bancorp.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The stock price sitting near the top of its range is a reason to start small rather than go all in, however.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Waiting for a pullback, as Cramer himself suggested back in January, remains a reasonable option.<\/p>\n
The fundamentals support the enthusiasm. The entry point is where there is a need for caution.<\/p>\n
Related: Jim Cramer has terrifying one-word message for tech stock investors<\/p>\n
#Surging #bank #stock #Jim #Cramer #vote #confidence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jim Cramer changes his mind about stocks fairly often, and he does not apologize for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[259],"tags":[200,1616,1567,1566,91,4061,140],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12995"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12995\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}