Zacks Research Downgrades BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) to Hold

Key Points

• BancFirst was downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating by Zacks Research, reflecting a more cautious outlook from analysts.
• DA Davidson and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods have recently adjusted their price objectives for BancFirst, indicating varied sentiments within analyst reports.
• The stock currently holds an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $134.00, while institutional investors control 51.72% of the shares.

Zacks Research cut shares of BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised BancFirst from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on BancFirst from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on BancFirst from $120.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $134.00.

BancFirst Trading Down 2.6%

BancFirst stock traded down $3.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $131.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 434,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 113,829. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.12 and a 200-day moving average of $121.89. The stock has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. BancFirst has a one year low of $97.02 and a one year high of $138.77.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $169.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $163.62 million. BancFirst had a return on equity of 14.16% and a net margin of 24.94%. On average, research analysts anticipate that BancFirst will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

BancFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This is an increase from BancFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. BancFirst's dividend payout ratio is 26.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.29, for a total transaction of $631,450.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $757,740. This trade represents a 45.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 32.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BancFirst

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANF. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BancFirst in the second quarter valued at about $32,326,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in BancFirst by 648.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 164,160 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,294,000 after buying an additional 142,232 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in BancFirst by 34,094.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 63,944 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,026,000 after buying an additional 63,757 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in BancFirst in the first quarter valued at about $6,912,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in BancFirst in the first quarter valued at about $6,635,000. Institutional investors own 51.72% of the company's stock.

About BancFirst

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.