Short Interest in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) Decreases By 10.3%

BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 518,400 shares, a drop of 10.3% from the January 15th total of 577,900 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 113,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William Scott Martin sold 24,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total value of $3,068,492.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 224,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,995,025.30. This represents a 9.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dennis L. Brand sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.50, for a total value of $506,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,500. This trade represents a 10.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,607 shares of company stock worth $5,377,543 over the last three months. 33.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BancFirst

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BANF. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in BancFirst by 155.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 314 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of BancFirst in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BancFirst by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 391 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 779.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in BancFirst by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 862 shares of the bank’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 51.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BancFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BANF traded down $0.51 during trading on Monday, reaching $119.44. 65,548 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 129,679. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. BancFirst has a 12 month low of $81.21 and a 12 month high of $132.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $119.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.49.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.07. BancFirst had a net margin of 23.52% and a return on equity of 14.21%. Research analysts expect that BancFirst will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BancFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BANF. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of BancFirst from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of BancFirst from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of BancFirst from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

About BancFirst

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.