Norges Bank Invests $27.72 Million in BancFirst Corporation $BANF

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 261,493 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $27,723,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of BancFirst by 49.4% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,208 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,717,000 after buying an additional 14,947 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of BancFirst by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 62,605 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,916,000 after buying an additional 17,092 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of BancFirst by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 80,535 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,184,000 after buying an additional 12,535 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of BancFirst by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 113,346 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,333,000 after buying an additional 14,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of BancFirst by 1,012.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,722 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,243,000 after buying an additional 10,668 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.72% of the company’s stock.

BancFirst Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of BANF stock opened at $112.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $111.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.23. BancFirst Corporation has a twelve month low of $101.48 and a twelve month high of $138.77. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.08. BancFirst had a net margin of 25.50% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The firm had revenue of $179.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. Research analysts forecast that BancFirst Corporation will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. BancFirst’s payout ratio is presently 26.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BANF shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded BancFirst from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of BancFirst in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BancFirst news, Director David E. Rainbolt sold 24,614 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.55, for a total value of $2,844,147.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 182,004 shares in the company, valued at $21,030,562.20. The trade was a 11.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 58,217 shares of company stock valued at $6,719,223. Insiders own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

BancFirst Company Profile

BancFirst Corporation is a regional banking holding company based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As the largest state‐chartered bank in Oklahoma, BancFirst offers a comprehensive suite of financial services to individuals, businesses and government entities. Its core business activities include commercial and consumer banking, mortgage lending, treasury management, equipment financing and electronic banking solutions.

The bank operates a network of more than 60 branches across Oklahoma, serving urban centers such as Oklahoma City and Tulsa, as well as rural communities throughout the state.