Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) Stock Breaks Below 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Bank First National Corporation (NASDAQ:BFC)’s stock price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $150.24 and traded as low as $147.54. Bank First National shares last traded at $147.89, with a volume of 101,652 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Bank First National from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bank First National from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Bank First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.00.

Bank First National Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $150.24 and a 200-day moving average of $145.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 0.44.

Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.60 by ($0.25). Bank First National had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The business had revenue of $75.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.80 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank First National Corporation will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Bank First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 23rd. Bank First National’s payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Insider Transactions at Bank First National

In related news, Director Todd Sprang purchased 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $148.37 per share, for a total transaction of $59,348.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,687.47. This trade represents a 19.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sistine Peter J. Van sold 1,848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.57, for a total transaction of $287,493.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,640 shares in the company, valued at $1,188,554.80. This represents a 19.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 4.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank First National

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank First National during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Bank First National by 53.8% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank First National in the second quarter worth about $99,000. Ballast Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank First National in the first quarter worth about $154,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA bought a new position in Bank First National during the 1st quarter worth about $206,000. 29.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bank First National

Bank First National, operating as Bank First Corporation (NASDAQ:BFC), is the holding company for Bank First, a community bank headquartered in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The bank provides banking services to individuals, families, businesses and municipalities through locations across Wisconsin.

Its products and services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, residential mortgages, commercial real estate and business lending, agricultural loans, treasury management and online and mobile banking.