Bank First Co. (NASDAQ:BFC) Short Interest Down 7.6% in January

Bank First Co. (NASDAQ:BFC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 129,000 shares, a decline of 7.6% from the December 31st total of 139,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 17,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Bank First from $99.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

Bank First Price Performance

BFC traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $100.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,985. The stock has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.35. Bank First has a 12 month low of $74.90 and a 12 month high of $110.49. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $101.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.19. Bank First had a net margin of 29.00% and a return on equity of 10.53%. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank First will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank First Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 26th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Bank First’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank First

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank First in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,031,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank First in the fourth quarter valued at about $349,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Bank First by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank First by 88.7% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 179,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,818,000 after buying an additional 84,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Bank First by 130.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,165,000 after buying an additional 13,502 shares during the last quarter. 29.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.