BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) Short Interest Down 18.8% in July

BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 349,100 shares, a drop of 18.8% from the June 30th total of 429,700 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 80,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BANF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of BancFirst from $84.50 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of BancFirst from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday.

BancFirst Stock Performance

BANF traded up $1.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $110.21. 88,532 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 115,537. BancFirst has a fifty-two week low of $79.99 and a fifty-two week high of $110.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $89.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.79. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01 and a beta of 1.04.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. BancFirst had a net margin of 29.64% and a return on equity of 14.10%. As a group, analysts predict that BancFirst will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William Scott Martin sold 5,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.50, for a total value of $537,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 326,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,142,180. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director William Scott Martin sold 5,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.50, for a total value of $537,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 326,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,142,180. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Dennis Jay Hannah sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.50, for a total transaction of $107,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,505. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,700 shares of company stock valued at $2,495,242 over the last 90 days. 33.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BancFirst

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BancFirst in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BancFirst in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BancFirst by 557.1% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 506 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of BancFirst by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 842 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BancFirst in the 1st quarter valued at $105,000. 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.