BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 429,500 shares, a growth of 18.7% from the January 15th total of 361,700 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 150,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BOK Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in BOK Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of BOK Financial by 33.8% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 396 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in BOK Financial by 25.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 905 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its position in BOK Financial by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its stake in BOK Financial by 538.9% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,182 shares of the bank’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the period. 34.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on BOKF shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of BOK Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on BOK Financial from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded BOK Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of BOK Financial from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of BOK Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.40.

BOK Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ BOKF opened at $110.57 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $110.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.31. The company has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 1.19. BOK Financial has a 12-month low of $81.96 and a 12-month high of $121.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

BOK Financial (NASDAQ:BOKF) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.15. BOK Financial had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 15.32%. Equities analysts anticipate that BOK Financial will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BOK Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. BOK Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.04%.

About BOK Financial

BOK Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for BOKF, NA that provides various financial products and services in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Northwest Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas/Missouri. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, and Wealth Management.