Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Makes New Investment in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 30,196 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,538,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.09% of BancFirst at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BancFirst in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,649,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in BancFirst in the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,958,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in BancFirst by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 175,457 shares of the bank's stock worth $20,560,000 after buying an additional 46,253 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in BancFirst by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,306,204 shares of the bank's stock worth $270,241,000 after buying an additional 44,563 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in BancFirst by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 109,342 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,813,000 after buying an additional 43,336 shares during the period. 51.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William Scott Martin sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 32.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BancFirst Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of BANF traded up $0.26 on Friday, reaching $128.50. The stock had a trading volume of 79,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,941. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95 and a beta of 0.78. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.63. BancFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $81.56 and a 12-month high of $132.29.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $164.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $161.72 million. BancFirst had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 23.52%. Sell-side analysts predict that BancFirst Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. BancFirst's payout ratio is presently 27.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded BancFirst from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th.

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.