JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 32,636 Shares of BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF - Free Report) by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,204 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 32,636 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.39% of BancFirst worth $13,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in BancFirst by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 101,276 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,659,000 after acquiring an additional 29,050 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in BancFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,219,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BancFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,766,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in BancFirst by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 482,785 shares of the bank's stock valued at $50,823,000 after acquiring an additional 58,016 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.72% of the company's stock.

BancFirst Price Performance

Shares of BANF traded down $3.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $110.88. The stock had a trading volume of 105,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 102,188. 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 $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $121.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.42. BancFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $81.21 and a 52 week high of $132.29.

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

BancFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. BancFirst's payout ratio is 29.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised BancFirst from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on BancFirst from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on BancFirst from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Activity at BancFirst

In other BancFirst news, Director Leslie Jeannine Rainbolt sold 2,152 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.47, for a total value of $237,731.44. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,942,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at $546,003,498.50. This represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dennis L. Brand sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.50, for a total value of $506,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,500. This represents a 10.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,150 shares of company stock valued at $15,442,825. Company insiders own 33.89% of the company's stock.

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.