StockNews.com Downgrades BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) to Sell

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of BancFirst from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on BancFirst from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st.

BancFirst Trading Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ:BANF opened at $118.63 on Friday. BancFirst has a 1 year low of $81.21 and a 1 year high of $132.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $121.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07 and a beta of 1.06.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.07. BancFirst had a net margin of 23.52% and a return on equity of 13.92%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BancFirst will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William Scott Martin sold 5,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.50, for a total transaction of $567,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 306,904 shares in the company, valued at $34,833,604. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dennis Jay Hannah sold 10,543 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.58, for a total transaction of $1,334,532.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,564 shares in the company, valued at $197,971.12. The trade was a 87.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 118,869 shares of company stock worth $14,309,535 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 33.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BancFirst

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of BancFirst by 25.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,122 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,852,000 after buying an additional 4,324 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in BancFirst by 16.0% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,836 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in BancFirst by 64.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 834 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in BancFirst by 7.4% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 31,907 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of BancFirst in the 2nd quarter valued at about $356,000. 51.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.