Bank First Co. (NASDAQ:BFC) Short Interest Down 13.4% in July

Bank First Co. (NASDAQ:BFC) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 193,900 shares, a decrease of 13.4% from the July 15th total of 224,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 24,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.8 days.

Bank First Stock Performance

BFC traded up $1.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $86.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 32,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,209. The company has a market capitalization of $870.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $84.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.23. Bank First has a 52-week low of $70.00 and a 52-week high of $96.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.13. Bank First had a return on equity of 10.13% and a net margin of 32.18%. The firm had revenue of $55.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.70 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bank First will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank First Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 25th. This is a boost from Bank First’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Bank First’s dividend payout ratio is 20.78%.

Institutional Trading of Bank First

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Bank First by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 485,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,118,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank First by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 68,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,940,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Bank First by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 45,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,792,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Bank First by 167.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 37,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,128,000 after acquiring an additional 23,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC purchased a new position in Bank First during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,560,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Bank First from $84.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th.

About Bank First

Bank First Corporation operates as a holding company for Bank First, N.A. that provides consumer and commercial financial services to businesses, professionals, consumers, associations, individuals, and governmental authorities in Wisconsin. It offers checking, savings, money market, cash management, retirement, and health savings accounts; other time deposits; certificates of deposit; and residential mortgage products.