BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Sets New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $132.59 and last traded at $132.12, with a volume of 103631 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.81.

The bank reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.19. BancFirst had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 24.05%.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. BancFirst’s payout ratio is currently 27.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BANF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded BancFirst from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of BancFirst to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Randy Foraker sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.61, for a total transaction of $506,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $620,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $744,720. This trade represents a 45.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 32.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BancFirst

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BANF. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of BancFirst during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of BancFirst by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,306,204 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $270,241,000 after acquiring an additional 44,563 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of BancFirst by 34,094.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 63,944 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,026,000 after acquiring an additional 63,757 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of BancFirst by 3.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 108,842 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,958,000 after acquiring an additional 3,594 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of BancFirst by 16.1% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 72,677 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,985,000 after acquiring an additional 10,088 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.72% of the company’s stock.

BancFirst Stock Up 2.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $125.28 and its 200 day moving average is $118.39.

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.