BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Sets New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $130.04 and last traded at $130.04, with a volume of 3300 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $126.28.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. BancFirst’s payout ratio is 29.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BANF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of BancFirst from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of BancFirst from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

BancFirst Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 1.02.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $163.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.70 million. BancFirst had a net margin of 23.52% and a return on equity of 13.92%. On average, analysts expect that BancFirst Co. will post 6.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William Scott Martin sold 24,607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total transaction of $3,068,492.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 224,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,995,025.30. This represents a 9.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dennis Jay Hannah sold 10,543 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.58, for a total transaction of $1,334,532.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,971.12. This trade represents a 87.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 178,844 shares of company stock valued at $20,608,335. 33.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of BancFirst

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in BancFirst by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 391 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in BancFirst by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,300 shares of the bank’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BancFirst by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the bank’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in BancFirst by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,993 shares of the bank’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in BancFirst by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 4,972 shares of the bank’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.72% of the company’s stock.

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.