BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) Short Interest Update

BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 459,000 shares, a decrease of 7.3% from the November 15th total of 495,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 117,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

BancFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BANF traded up $1.89 during trading on Monday, reaching $127.27. 53,670 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 84,951. BancFirst has a 52-week low of $81.21 and a 52-week high of $132.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46 and a beta of 1.05.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $163.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $156.70 million. BancFirst had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 23.52%. Equities research analysts anticipate that BancFirst will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. BancFirst's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BANF. 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 report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on BancFirst from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded BancFirst from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Activity at BancFirst

In other BancFirst news, Director Leslie Jeannine Rainbolt sold 2,152 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.47, for a total value of $237,731.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,942,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,003,498.50. This represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dennis Jay Hannah sold 10,543 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.58, for a total value of $1,334,532.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,564 shares in the company, valued at $197,971.12. This represents a 87.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 129,150 shares of company stock worth $15,442,825. Insiders own 33.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BancFirst

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,300 shares of the bank's stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in BancFirst by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the bank's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of BancFirst by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,993 shares of the bank's stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its position in BancFirst by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 7,943 shares of the bank's stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 51.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.