BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) Short Interest Update

BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) was the target of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 431,100 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the August 15th total of 403,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 93,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

BancFirst Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BANF traded up $2.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $107.64. 22,436 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 73,787. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.24. BancFirst has a 52 week low of $79.99 and a 52 week high of $110.79. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25 and a beta of 1.03.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.09. BancFirst had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 23.46%. The business had revenue of $153.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.75 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BancFirst will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BancFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from BancFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BANF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of BancFirst from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on BancFirst from $84.50 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd.

Insider Activity at BancFirst

In other BancFirst news, Director William Scott Martin sold 5,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.50, for a total value of $537,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 326,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,142,180. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director William Scott Martin sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.50, for a total transaction of $537,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 326,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,142,180. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dave R. Lopez sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.13, for a total value of $102,130.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,564 shares of company stock valued at $7,150,517. Corporate insiders own 33.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BancFirst

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in BancFirst by 557.1% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 506 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of BancFirst by 56.8% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 842 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of BancFirst during the second quarter worth $77,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in BancFirst during the first quarter valued at $105,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in BancFirst in the second quarter valued at about $114,000. 51.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.