BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• BancFirst's stock crossed above its 200‑day moving average
• The bank beat the quarter's expectations with EPS of $1.85 (vs. $1.77 est.) and revenue of $179.0M (vs. $177.19M), reporting a 31.71% net margin and 13.84% ROE; analysts forecast FY EPS of about 7.36.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $124, while institutional investors have been increasing positions and insiders have been selling — Director David Rainbolt sold 24,614 shares (≈$2.84M) and insiders sold 42,997 shares over the last three months.

BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $111.32 and traded as high as $114.97. BancFirst shares last traded at $114.53, with a volume of 130,506 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BANF shares. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of BancFirst in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BancFirst from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of BancFirst from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BancFirst currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $124.00.

BancFirst Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $110.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.32.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $179.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $177.19 million. BancFirst had a net margin of 31.71% and a return on equity of 13.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that BancFirst Corporation will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BancFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. BancFirst's payout ratio is 26.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BancFirst

In other news, Director David E. Rainbolt sold 24,614 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.55, for a total transaction of $2,844,147.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 182,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,030,562.20. The trade was a 11.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 42,997 shares of company stock worth $4,967,497 over the last three months. 31.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,375,873 shares of the bank's stock valued at $146,537,000 after purchasing an additional 96,957 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of BancFirst during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,723,000. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 168,591 shares of the bank's stock valued at $17,874,000 after purchasing an additional 39,672 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 73.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 163,512 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,676,000 after purchasing an additional 69,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 33.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 134,175 shares of the bank's stock valued at $16,966,000 after purchasing an additional 33,636 shares during the last quarter. 51.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About BancFirst

BancFirst Corporation is a regional banking holding company based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As the largest state‐chartered bank in Oklahoma, BancFirst offers a comprehensive suite of financial services to individuals, businesses and government entities. Its core business activities include commercial and consumer banking, mortgage lending, treasury management, equipment financing and electronic banking solutions.

The bank operates a network of more than 60 branches across Oklahoma, serving urban centers such as Oklahoma City and Tulsa, as well as rural communities throughout the state.

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