Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Bank First Co. (NASDAQ:BFC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $99.00 to $104.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Bank First traded as high as $96.00 and last traded at $96.00, with a volume of 8076 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $94.07.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank First

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BFC. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Bank First by 91.7% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 1,768 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Bank First by 61.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 2,478 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Bank First by 30.7% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Bank First by 158.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 7,703 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Bank First by 167.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 37,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,128,000 after purchasing an additional 23,705 shares during the period. 29.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank First Stock Up 2.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.98. The company has a market cap of $967.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.30.

Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.11. Bank First had a return on equity of 10.07% and a net margin of 32.18%. The firm had revenue of $58.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.60 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank First Co. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank First Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from Bank First’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. Bank First’s payout ratio is currently 20.78%.

About Bank First

Bank First Corporation operates as a holding company for Bank First, N.A. that provides consumer and commercial financial services to businesses, professionals, consumers, associations, individuals, and governmental authorities in Wisconsin. It offers checking, savings, money market, cash management, retirement, and health savings accounts; other time deposits; certificates of deposit; and residential mortgage products.