BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 305,300 shares, a decline of 28.9% from the January 31st total of 429,500 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 139,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

BOK Financial Stock Down 3.7 %

BOKF stock opened at $104.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $109.46 and a 200-day moving average of $109.25. BOK Financial has a fifty-two week low of $84.56 and a fifty-two week high of $121.58. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.75.

BOK Financial (NASDAQ:BOKF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.15. BOK Financial had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 9.86%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BOK Financial will post 8.83 earnings per share for the current year.

BOK Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. BOK Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 28.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on BOKF shares. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of BOK Financial from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of BOK Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on BOK Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on BOK Financial from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on BOK Financial from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BOK Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of BOK Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,445,542 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $260,328,000 after purchasing an additional 11,418 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in BOK Financial by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,372,203 shares of the bank’s stock worth $252,526,000 after purchasing an additional 98,588 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in BOK Financial by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 414,548 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,129,000 after buying an additional 184,261 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of BOK Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 410,570 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,718,000 after buying an additional 5,028 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BOK Financial by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 252,779 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,908,000 after buying an additional 57,420 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 34.44% of the company’s stock.

BOK Financial Company Profile

BOK Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for BOKF, NA that provides various financial products and services in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Northwest Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas/Missouri. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, and Wealth Management.