BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) saw a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 625,000 shares, a growth of 41.3% from the September 15th total of 442,200 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 120,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BANF. StockNews.com downgraded shares of BancFirst from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of BancFirst from $84.50 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd.

Insider Transactions at BancFirst

In related news, Director William Scott Martin sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.50, for a total transaction of $537,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 326,904 shares in the company, valued at $35,142,180. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other BancFirst news, Director William Scott Martin sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.50, for a total transaction of $537,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 326,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,142,180. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dennis Jay Hannah sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $319,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $821,541. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,564 shares of company stock valued at $7,150,517. 33.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of BancFirst

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BANF. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of BancFirst by 557.1% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 506 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in BancFirst by 56.8% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 842 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in BancFirst in the second quarter worth about $77,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BancFirst during the first quarter worth approximately $105,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of BancFirst in the second quarter valued at approximately $114,000. 51.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BancFirst Stock Performance

BancFirst stock traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $107.14. 40,324 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 82,506. BancFirst has a 12-month low of $79.99 and a 12-month high of $111.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.76.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $153.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.75 million. BancFirst had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 13.89%. Equities research analysts predict that BancFirst will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

BancFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from BancFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.07%.

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.