Bear State earnings $3.3M in 1Q, up 43%
Bear State Financial earned $3.3 million in the first quarter, up 43 percent from $2.3 million it made in the same period last year, the Little Rock bank reported Friday.
Bear State earned 9 cents per share in the first three months this year, up from 7 cents per share in the first quarter last year.
Bear State had $1.9 billion in assets at the end of the quarter, up from $1.5 billion last year.
The bank also released its proxy statement Wednesday.
Mark McFatridge, the bank's chief executive officer for the last three months of 2015, earned $619,587 for that year. McFatridge is the former CEO of Metropolitan National Bank of Springfield, Mo., which Bear State acquired last year.
Thomas Fritsche Jr., Bear State's chief operating officer, made $709,509 last year. Matthew Machen, chief financial officer, earned $498,961 last year.
Bear State's annual meeting is scheduled for May 25 in Jonesboro.
-- David Smith
UA business college rises in rankings
The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas placed 34th in a new report by Businessweek ranking public undergraduate business programs in the United States.
The business college placed 74th when compared to both public and private schools. The report ranked 114 programs based on an employer survey; a student survey; salaries for graduates and how many students had internships, according to the news release.
Previously, Walton College of Business ranked 47th among public schools and 104th among all business schools.
"We are thrilled to once again move up in the Businessweek rankings," Karen Boston, assistant dean for undergraduate programs, said in a prepared statement. "These rankings are a direct reflection of the quality our students continue to experience in the Walton College."
-- Jessica Seaman
State index up 2.92; all but 3 stocks gain
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 2.92 to 329.99 Friday.
All but three stocks gained ground.
Murphy Oil rose 6.4 percent on average volume.
P.A.M. Transportation lost 3.7 percent on almost triple its average volume.
For the week, 14 stocks advanced and four declined.
Murphy Oil climbed 18.1 percent for the week.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 04/23/2016