BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Stock Moved Down to "Sell" by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded BancFirst from “hold” to “sell,” while other analysts remain mixed; the overall consensus is “Hold” with a $123 price target.
• BancFirst opened at $110.31, with a $3.71 billion market capitalization and a 52-week range of $101.48 to $122.21. The stock was reported down 1.0%.
• The bank exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.97 versus the $1.94 consensus, although revenue of $187.39 million was slightly below estimates. Insiders sold approximately $4.93 million in shares during the last quarter.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

BANF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded BancFirst from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered BancFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of BancFirst from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BancFirst currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.00.

BancFirst Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ BANF opened at $110.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $109.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.65. BancFirst has a twelve month low of $101.48 and a twelve month high of $122.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.65.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $187.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $187.68 million. BancFirst had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 32.44%. Research analysts forecast that BancFirst will post 7.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Rainbolt sold 17,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.06, for a total transaction of $2,051,519.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,554,000.36. This trade represents a 56.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 42,833 shares of company stock worth $4,927,960 over the last quarter. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BancFirst

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 442 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 17.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the bank's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 7.5% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,549 shares of the bank's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in BancFirst by 1.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 11,643 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its position in BancFirst by 174.2% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 340 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. 51.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BancFirst Company Profile

BancFirst Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Through its principal subsidiary, BancFirst, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, agricultural customers and public-sector organizations.

BancFirst's services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, real estate financing, treasury management, online and mobile banking, and other deposit and lending products. The company also offers trust and wealth-management services, including investment management, fiduciary services and retirement-related solutions.

BancFirst serves customers through a statewide network of banking locations and electronic banking channels, with a focus on communities throughout Oklahoma.

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