Great Lakes Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 41,466 BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 41,466 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $4,859,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.13% of BancFirst as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANF. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in BancFirst by 155.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 314 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of BancFirst by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 862 shares of the bank's stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,162 shares of the bank's stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of BancFirst by 83.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,464 shares of the bank's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in BancFirst during the third quarter worth $200,000. 51.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BANF shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of BancFirst from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on BancFirst from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

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Insider Transactions at BancFirst

In other BancFirst news, EVP Darryl Schmidt sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.06, for a total value of $610,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,317,421.84. This trade represents a 10.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William Scott Martin sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.13, for a total transaction of $1,191,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 214,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,553,265.87. The trade was a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,994,350 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 33.89% of the company's stock.

BancFirst Price Performance

NASDAQ BANF traded down $0.43 on Monday, hitting $111.13. The company had a trading volume of 96,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 91,628. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 1.03. BancFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $81.21 and a 12-month high of $132.29. The company's fifty day moving average price is $117.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.40.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $1.68 EPS 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 14.21%. As a group, analysts predict that BancFirst Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

BancFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. BancFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

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.