BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement

BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $130.04 and last traded at $130.04, with a volume of 3300 shares traded. 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

BancFirst Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.91.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BancFirst news, Director William Scott Martin sold 24,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total value of $3,068,492.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 224,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,995,025.30. The trade was a 9.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David E. Rainbolt sold 1,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.01, for a total value of $146,068.91. Following the sale, the director now owns 215,024 shares in the company, valued at $22,579,670.24. This trade represents a 0.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 178,844 shares of company stock worth $20,608,335. Insiders own 33.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BancFirst

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in BancFirst during the 3rd quarter worth $1,219,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BancFirst in the third quarter valued at about $1,766,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in BancFirst by 3.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in BancFirst by 13.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 482,785 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,823,000 after purchasing an additional 58,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in BancFirst by 94.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,136 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,908,000 after acquiring an additional 27,295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.72% of the company’s stock.

BancFirst Company Profile

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.