BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on BANF. 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 upped their target price on shares of BancFirst from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th.

BancFirst Price Performance

Shares of BANF opened at $126.63 on Friday. BancFirst has a 1-year low of $95.78 and a 1-year high of $137.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $125.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.96.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.18. BancFirst had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 14.38%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $163.62 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BancFirst will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BancFirst

In other news, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $620,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $744,720. This represents a 45.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Randy Foraker sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.61, for a total transaction of $506,440.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 32.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in BancFirst during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in BancFirst by 779.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the bank's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in BancFirst by 108.6% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 559 shares of the bank's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in BancFirst by 211.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 582 shares of the bank's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in BancFirst during the fourth quarter worth about $135,000. 51.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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