BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Wall Street Zen cut shares of BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF – Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded BancFirst from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered BancFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on BancFirst from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Get Our Latest Report on BANF

BancFirst Price Performance

Shares of BANF stock opened at $110.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. BancFirst has a 12-month low of $101.48 and a 12-month high of $122.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $109.33 and a 200-day moving average of $111.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.65.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $187.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.68 million. BancFirst had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 32.44%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BancFirst will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current year.

BancFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a positive change from BancFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. BancFirst’s payout ratio is currently 27.62%.

Insider Activity at BancFirst

In related news, Director David Rainbolt sold 8,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $978,190.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 42,833 shares of company stock worth $4,927,960 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BancFirst

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of BancFirst during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 174.2% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of BancFirst during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in BancFirst by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 442 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in BancFirst by 51.1% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 991 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. 51.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BancFirst Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

BancFirst Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Through its principal subsidiary, BancFirst, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, agricultural customers and public-sector organizations.

BancFirst’s services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, real estate financing, treasury management, online and mobile banking, and other deposit and lending products. The company also offers trust and wealth-management services, including investment management, fiduciary services and retirement-related solutions.

BancFirst serves customers through a statewide network of banking locations and electronic banking channels, with a focus on communities throughout Oklahoma.

Further Reading

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