BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

BancFirst Price Performance

NASDAQ BANF opened at $104.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $88.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.34. BancFirst has a 1 year low of $79.99 and a 1 year high of $107.64. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16 and a beta of 1.04.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.09. BancFirst had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 14.10%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BancFirst will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current year.

BancFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. BancFirst’s payout ratio is currently 28.10%.

Insider Transactions at BancFirst

In other news, EVP Dennis Jay Hannah sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $704,970. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kevin Lawrence sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Dennis Jay Hannah sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,714 shares in the company, valued at $704,970. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,877,860 in the last ninety days. 33.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in BancFirst in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in BancFirst in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in BancFirst by 557.1% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 506 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in BancFirst by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 842 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in BancFirst in the 1st quarter valued at about $105,000. 51.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.