BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on BancFirst from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

BancFirst Stock Performance

Shares of BANF stock opened at $118.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. BancFirst has a fifty-two week low of $81.21 and a fifty-two week high of $132.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $118.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.94.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.07. BancFirst had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 23.52%. Analysts expect that BancFirst will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

BancFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Insider Transactions at BancFirst

In other BancFirst news, EVP Dennis L. Brand sold 4,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.50, for a total value of $506,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,500. The trade was a 10.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.97, for a total value of $589,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at $707,820. This trade represents a 45.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,500,350 over the last quarter. 33.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BancFirst

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 155.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 314 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in BancFirst by 779.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in BancFirst by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 862 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in BancFirst in the 4th quarter worth $135,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in BancFirst by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,162 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. 51.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BancFirst Company Profile

BancFirst Corporation operates as the bank holding company for BancFirst that provides a range of commercial banking services to retail customers, and small to medium-sized businesses. The company operates through BancFirst Metropolitan Banks, BancFirst Community Banks, Pegasus, Worthington, and Other Financial Services segments.