Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) Upgraded at Zacks Research

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on BFC. Hovde Group increased their price target on Bank First National from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Bank First National from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Bank First National from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank First National from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank First National presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $163.00.

Bank First National Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:BFC opened at $150.78 on Thursday. Bank First National has a 52-week low of $115.29 and a 52-week high of $154.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $144.81 and its 200 day moving average is $140.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $75.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.25 million. Bank First National had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 27.70%. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank First National will post 9.91 EPS for the current year.

Bank First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. This is a positive change from Bank First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Bank First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank First National

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Bank First National by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 598,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,948,000 after purchasing an additional 10,052 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Bank First National by 2,452,855.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 490,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,764,000 after buying an additional 490,571 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank First National by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 247,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,127,000 after buying an additional 8,308 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Bank First National by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 159,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,565,000 after buying an additional 27,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Bank First National by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 73,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,864,000 after buying an additional 6,416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 29.95% of the company’s stock.

About Bank First National

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.