BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 430,800 shares, an increase of 31.0% from the February 28th total of 328,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 134,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BOK Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of BOK Financial in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in BOK Financial by 66.9% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 282 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in BOK Financial by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 396 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of BOK Financial by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of BOK Financial by 538.9% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,182 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 34.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BOKF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of BOK Financial from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of BOK Financial from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com cut BOK Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on BOK Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on BOK Financial from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.11.

BOK Financial Stock Performance

Shares of BOK Financial stock opened at $104.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 1.20. BOK Financial has a 12 month low of $85.02 and a 12 month high of $121.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.26.

BOK Financial (NASDAQ:BOKF) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.15. BOK Financial had a return on equity of 9.86% and a net margin of 15.32%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BOK Financial will post 8.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BOK Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. BOK Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.04%.

BOK Financial Company Profile

BOK Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for BOKF, NA that provides various financial products and services in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Northwest Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas/Missouri. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, and Wealth Management.