Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) Upgraded at Hovde Group

Hovde Group upgraded shares of Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC - Free Report) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $130.00 price objective on the stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Bank First from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th.

Bank First Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BFC traded down $5.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $112.30. 26,573 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,286. Bank First has a one year low of $77.00 and a one year high of $119.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $104.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.53.

Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.20. Bank First had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 29.00%. The business had revenue of $43.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.80 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank First will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank First Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $3.50 per share. This is a positive change from Bank First's previous dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Bank First's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Daniel C. Mcconeghy bought 380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $105.72 per share, for a total transaction of $40,173.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $211,440. This represents a 23.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael S. Stayer-Suprick purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $102.07 per share, with a total value of $102,070.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $309,782.45. This trade represents a 49.14 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Bank First in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank First by 771.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 305 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank First by 176.3% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Bank First during the 4th quarter valued at $189,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Bank First by 17,300.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,914 shares of the company's stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,903 shares in the last quarter. 29.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank First Company Profile

Bank First Corporation operates as a holding company for Bank First, N.A. that provides consumer and commercial financial services to businesses, professionals, consumers, associations, individuals, and governmental authorities in Wisconsin. It offers checking, savings, money market, cash management, retirement, and health savings accounts; other time deposits; certificates of deposit; and residential mortgage products.