BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) Short Interest Update

BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 403,500 shares, an increase of 23.2% from the July 31st total of 327,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 85,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

BancFirst Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of BANF stock traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $106.40. The stock had a trading volume of 118,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,327. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 1.04. BancFirst has a 52-week low of $79.99 and a 52-week high of $110.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $98.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.98.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $153.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.75 million. BancFirst had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 23.46%. Equities analysts expect that BancFirst will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BancFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from BancFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Dennis Jay Hannah sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,714 shares in the company, valued at $704,970. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David E. Rainbolt sold 18,376 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.22, for a total value of $1,951,898.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 223,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,779,896.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Dennis Jay Hannah sold 1,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $704,970. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,246 shares of company stock valued at $3,430,906. Company insiders own 33.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BancFirst

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BANF. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in BancFirst in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in BancFirst during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in BancFirst by 557.1% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 506 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of BancFirst by 56.8% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 842 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of BancFirst in the 2nd quarter worth about $77,000. 51.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BANF shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on BancFirst from $84.50 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of BancFirst from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

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.