BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Piper Sandler upped their target price on BancFirst from $84.50 to $95.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd.

BancFirst Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BANF opened at $110.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. BancFirst has a twelve month low of $79.99 and a twelve month high of $110.75. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.79.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.09. BancFirst had a net margin of 29.64% and a return on equity of 14.10%. As a group, research analysts predict that BancFirst will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kevin Lawrence sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Dennis Jay Hannah sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $319,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $821,541. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin Lawrence sold 10,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,700 shares of company stock worth $2,495,242 in the last three months. 33.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of BancFirst

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of BancFirst by 1.4% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,300 shares of the bank’s stock worth $640,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in BancFirst by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 4,972 shares of the bank’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in BancFirst by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,070 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in BancFirst by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 12,682 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in BancFirst by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 7,943 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 51.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About BancFirst

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.