Norges Bank Takes $26.65 Million Position in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 227,418 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $26,649,000. Norges Bank owned 0.69% of BancFirst as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 155.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 314 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in BancFirst by 11.5% in 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 BancFirst by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,162 shares of the bank's stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of BancFirst in the 4th quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of BancFirst in the fourth quarter valued at about $218,000. 51.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded BancFirst from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th.

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BancFirst Stock Down 0.4 %

BancFirst stock traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $102.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 100,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 101,049. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. BancFirst Co. has a 12 month low of $81.21 and a 12 month high of $132.29. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $112.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.82.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts anticipate that BancFirst Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

BancFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. BancFirst's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $707,820. The trade was a 45.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William Scott Martin sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 214,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,553,265.87. This represents a 4.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,994,350. 33.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.