Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank First National in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Scotiabank raised Bank First National to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Bank First National from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.00.

Bank First National Price Performance

BFC opened at $131.93 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.02. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25 and a beta of 0.43. Bank First National has a 1 year low of $93.00 and a 1 year high of $152.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.25. Bank First National had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 11.61%. The firm had revenue of $49.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.75 million. As a group, analysts predict that Bank First National will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. This is a boost from Bank First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Bank First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Steven M. Eldred sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.95, for a total value of $1,215,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 125,680 shares in the company, valued at $19,097,076. The trade was a 5.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bank First National

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Bank First National by 95.5% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 305 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Bank First National by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 816 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank First National by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 7,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Bank First National by 920.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Bank First National by 34.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 29.95% of the company’s stock.

Bank First National Company Profile

Bank First National Corporation (NASDAQ: BFC) is the bank holding company for Bank First National, a community bank headquartered in Princeton, Wisconsin. The company offers a comprehensive suite of financial services designed to meet the needs of individuals, families, small businesses and agricultural clients. Through its branch network and digital channels, Bank First National provides deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage financing and treasury management solutions.

The bank’s core deposit products include checking and savings accounts, money market funds and certificates of deposit, complemented by online and mobile banking platforms that enable customers to manage their finances remotely.