BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 429,500 shares, a growth of 18.7% from the January 15th total of 361,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 150,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on BOKF. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on BOK Financial from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com raised BOK Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens lowered their price target on BOK Financial from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on BOK Financial from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of BOK Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BOK Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.40.

BOK Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ BOKF traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $110.57. The company had a trading volume of 143,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,105. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. BOK Financial has a 1-year low of $81.96 and a 1-year high of $121.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $110.66 and its 200-day moving average is $108.24.

BOK Financial (NASDAQ:BOKF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.15. BOK Financial had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 15.32%. On average, analysts expect that BOK Financial will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BOK Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. BOK Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BOK Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BOKF. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in BOK Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in BOK Financial by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 396 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in BOK Financial by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 905 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in BOK Financial by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,088 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its stake in BOK Financial by 538.9% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,182 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 34.44% of the company’s stock.

About BOK Financial

BOK Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for BOKF, NA that provides various financial products and services in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Northwest Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas/Missouri. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, and Wealth Management.