BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 126,594 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 8% from the previous session’s volume of 137,779 shares.The stock last traded at $112.1680 and had previously closed at $110.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of BancFirst from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of BancFirst in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.00.

BancFirst Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $112.07 and a 200-day moving average of $111.36.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.08. BancFirst had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 25.50%.The business had revenue of $179.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that BancFirst Corporation will post 7.39 EPS for the current year.

BancFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BancFirst news, Director David E. Rainbolt sold 24,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.55, for a total value of $2,844,147.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 182,004 shares in the company, valued at $21,030,562.20. This represents a 11.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,217 shares of company stock valued at $6,719,223. Corporate insiders own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BancFirst

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of BancFirst in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,723,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in BancFirst by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,375,873 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $146,537,000 after buying an additional 96,957 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in BancFirst during the 4th quarter valued at $8,316,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in BancFirst by 73.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 163,512 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,676,000 after buying an additional 69,192 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in BancFirst by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 168,591 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,874,000 after buying an additional 39,672 shares during the period. 51.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About BancFirst

BancFirst Corporation is a regional banking holding company based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As the largest state‐chartered bank in Oklahoma, BancFirst offers a comprehensive suite of financial services to individuals, businesses and government entities. Its core business activities include commercial and consumer banking, mortgage lending, treasury management, equipment financing and electronic banking solutions.

The bank operates a network of more than 60 branches across Oklahoma, serving urban centers such as Oklahoma City and Tulsa, as well as rural communities throughout the state.