BancFirst Trust & Investment Management Decreases Holdings in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)

BancFirst Trust & Investment Management reduced its position in shares of BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) by 46.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 907,318 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 794,764 shares during the period. BancFirst accounts for about 48.6% of BancFirst Trust & Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management owned 2.74% of BancFirst worth $108,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in BancFirst during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in BancFirst by 33.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 391 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in BancFirst by 64.8% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 834 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in BancFirst during the second quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of BancFirst in the 3rd quarter valued at $105,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dennis Jay Hannah sold 10,543 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.58, for a total value of $1,334,532.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,564 shares in the company, valued at $197,971.12. This trade represents a 87.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David E. Rainbolt sold 5,601 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total transaction of $617,286.21. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 208,723 shares in the company, valued at $23,003,361.83. The trade was a 2.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,150 shares of company stock valued at $15,442,825. 33.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BancFirst Stock Performance

BANF stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $116.88. 21,568 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 86,088. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $121.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.76. BancFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $81.21 and a 52 week high of $132.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79 and a beta of 1.05.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $163.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.70 million. BancFirst had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 23.52%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BancFirst Co. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio is 29.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on BANF shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of BancFirst from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. 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 note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded BancFirst from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

BancFirst 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.