BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• BancFirst has been downgraded from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a negative outlook on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts like Weiss Ratings maintain a "buy" rating, while DA Davidson and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods have set varying price targets for the stock.
• BancFirst's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.85, which missed analyst estimates, further influencing investor sentiment.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of BancFirst in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of BancFirst from $120.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of BancFirst from $132.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of BancFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $128.00.

BancFirst Stock Performance

Shares of BANF opened at $112.77 on Friday. BancFirst has a 12-month low of $97.02 and a 12-month high of $138.77. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $127.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.13.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.02). BancFirst had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 24.94%.The business had revenue of $175.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.60 million. As a group, research analysts predict that BancFirst will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BancFirst news, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.29, for a total value of $631,450.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at $757,740. This trade represents a 45.45% decrease in their position. 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BancFirst

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANF. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 4,600 shares of the bank's stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in BancFirst by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 4,652 shares of the bank's stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in BancFirst by 4.4% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,419 shares of the bank's stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in BancFirst by 1.4% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 8,961 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,108,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in BancFirst by 2.8% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,926 shares of the bank's stock valued at $609,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.72% 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.