Intech Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,497 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,123 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in BancFirst were worth $996,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in BancFirst by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,743 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,845,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in BancFirst during the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. Impact Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in BancFirst during the 4th quarter worth approximately $393,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in BancFirst by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 42,218 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,947,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BancFirst in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,859,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.72% of the company’s stock.

BancFirst Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ:BANF opened at $109.61 on Friday. BancFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $81.21 and a 1 year high of $132.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $116.81 and a 200-day moving average of $115.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.07. BancFirst had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 23.52%. Equities analysts predict that BancFirst Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

BancFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Insider Activity at BancFirst

In related news, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.97, for a total transaction of $589,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,820. This trade represents a 45.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William Scott Martin sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.13, for a total value of $1,191,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 214,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,553,265.87. This represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,994,350 over the last 90 days. 33.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BANF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on BancFirst from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded BancFirst from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

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.