BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on BANF. Zacks Research downgraded shares of BancFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BancFirst in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of BancFirst from $120.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of BancFirst from $132.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.00.

BancFirst Stock Performance

BANF opened at $112.58 on Friday. BancFirst has a 52-week low of $97.02 and a 52-week high of $138.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $127.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.43.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.02). BancFirst had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The company had revenue of $175.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.60 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BancFirst will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BancFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from BancFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. BancFirst’s payout ratio is currently 27.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BancFirst news, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.29, for a total value of $631,450.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $757,740. This represents a 45.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 32.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BancFirst

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management boosted its position in BancFirst by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management now owns 886,571 shares of the bank’s stock worth $113,224,000 after purchasing an additional 7,056 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in BancFirst by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 501,163 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BancFirst in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,326,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in BancFirst by 648.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 164,160 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,294,000 after purchasing an additional 142,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in BancFirst by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 108,842 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,958,000 after purchasing an additional 3,594 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.72% of the company’s stock.

BancFirst Company 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.