Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases New Stake in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)

Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,488 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in BancFirst by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 862 shares of the bank's stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of BancFirst by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,743 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in BancFirst by 155.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 314 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in BancFirst by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,979 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. 51.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BancFirst Stock Performance

NASDAQ BANF opened at $109.54 on Friday. BancFirst Co. has a fifty-two week low of $81.50 and a fifty-two week high of $132.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $111.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.63.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.09. BancFirst had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 23.52%. The business had revenue of $164.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.72 million. On average, equities analysts expect that BancFirst Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. BancFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of BancFirst from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th.

Insider Activity at BancFirst

In other news, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.97, for a total transaction of $589,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at $707,820. The trade was a 45.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Scott Martin sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.13, for a total transaction of $1,191,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 214,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,553,265.87. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,994,350 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 33.89% of the company's stock.

BancFirst 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.

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