BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Key Points

• BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) reported a quarterly EPS of $1.85, missing analysts' estimates by $0.02.
• The bank increased its quarterly dividend from $0.46 to $0.49, yielding an annualized return of 1.7%.
• Shares of BancFirst fell 1.2% to $113.31 following the earnings announcement, with a net margin of 24.94%.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The bank reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. BancFirst had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 14.16%.

BancFirst Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of BancFirst stock traded down $1.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $113.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 89,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,898. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 0.76. BancFirst has a 1-year low of $97.02 and a 1-year high of $138.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.79.

BancFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from BancFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. BancFirst's payout ratio is 28.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BANF. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of BancFirst in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded BancFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. 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 report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BancFirst from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of BancFirst from $120.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $134.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at BancFirst

In other BancFirst news, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of BancFirst 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 6,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $757,740. The trade was a 45.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 32.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BancFirst

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of BancFirst by 957.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the bank's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of BancFirst by 108.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 559 shares of the bank's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of BancFirst during the 2nd quarter valued at about $121,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of BancFirst during the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in shares of BancFirst during the 2nd quarter valued at about $218,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.