Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Bank First Co. (NASDAQ:BFC) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 36,277 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 34% from the previous session’s volume of 26,992 shares.The stock last traded at $114.41 and had previously closed at $114.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BFC shares. Hovde Group raised Bank First from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Bank First from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th.

Bank First Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.98 and a 200 day moving average of $104.87.

Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.20. Bank First had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 29.00%. The firm had revenue of $43.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.80 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank First Co. will post 6.9 EPS for the current year.

Bank First Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $3.50 per share. This is an increase from Bank First’s previous dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Bank First’s payout ratio is 26.43%.

Institutional Trading of Bank First

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Bank First by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in Bank First by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bank First by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 10,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Bank First by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Bank First by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 29.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bank First

Bank First Corporation operates as a holding company for Bank First, N.A. that provides consumer and commercial financial services to businesses, professionals, consumers, associations, individuals, and governmental authorities in Wisconsin. It offers checking, savings, money market, cash management, retirement, and health savings accounts; other time deposits; certificates of deposit; and residential mortgage products.