BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) Short Interest Up 24.6% in December

BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 293,900 shares, an increase of 24.6% from the November 30th total of 235,900 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 153,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on BOKF shares. Stephens lowered their price target on BOK Financial from $116.00 to $114.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial raised BOK Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $112.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of BOK Financial from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of BOK Financial from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of BOK Financial from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $114.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at BOK Financial

In other news, Director Steven Bangert sold 2,000 shares of BOK Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.83, for a total transaction of $235,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 44,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,268,061.47. The trade was a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 56.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BOKF. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of BOK Financial by 24.7% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,198 shares of the bank's stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in BOK Financial by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 126,228 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,567,000 after purchasing an additional 13,175 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new position in shares of BOK Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $210,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BOK Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Finally, Elk River Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of BOK Financial by 14.3% in the second quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,142 shares of the bank's stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares during the last quarter. 34.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BOK Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:BOKF traded down $1.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $108.20. 102,278 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 152,966. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 1.18. BOK Financial has a twelve month low of $77.86 and a twelve month high of $121.58. The stock's 50-day moving average is $113.37 and its 200-day moving average is $104.59.

BOK Financial (NASDAQ:BOKF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.20. BOK Financial had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 9.67%. The firm had revenue of $888.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $509.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BOK Financial will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BOK Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from BOK Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. BOK Financial's payout ratio is currently 31.36%.

BOK Financial Company Profile

BOK Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for BOKF, NA that provides various financial products and services in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Northwest Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas/Missouri. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, and Wealth Management.

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