Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF - Free Report) by 110.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,020 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 2,630 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in BancFirst were worth $588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANF. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of BancFirst by 33.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 391 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of BancFirst by 3.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the bank's stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of BancFirst by 2.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,051 shares of the bank's stock valued at $953,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in BancFirst by 64.8% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 834 shares of the bank's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in BancFirst in the third quarter worth about $38,000. 51.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BancFirst Stock Up 0.4 %

BANF traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $121.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 119,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,173. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. BancFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $81.21 and a 1 year high of $132.29. The stock's 50-day moving average is $121.53 and its 200-day moving average is $111.10.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.07. BancFirst had a net margin of 23.52% and a return on equity of 13.92%. As a group, research analysts expect that BancFirst Co. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

BancFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. BancFirst's payout ratio is 29.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William Scott Martin sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.50, for a total transaction of $567,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 306,904 shares in the company, valued at $34,833,604. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Dennis L. Brand sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.50, for a total transaction of $506,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,500. The trade was a 10.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,869 shares of company stock worth $14,309,535 over the last 90 days. 33.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BANF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of BancFirst from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of BancFirst from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of BancFirst from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st.

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.