Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) from a "hold" to a "strong sell" in a report issued Thursday.
• Analyst views are mixed: the stock carries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $153.50, while recent notes range from Scotiabank's "sector outperform" to Wall Street Zen's "strong sell".
• In the latest quarter BFC missed EPS expectations ($2.24 vs. $2.40) but beat revenue estimates ($74.28M), and two directors recently increased their holdings while institutional ownership stands near 29.95%.

Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

BFC has been the subject of several other reports. Scotiabank raised Bank First National to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bank First National from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Bank First National from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Bank First National from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $153.50.

Bank First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BFC opened at $142.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Bank First National has a 1-year low of $109.11 and a 1-year high of $152.99.

Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.40 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $74.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.70 million. Bank First National had a return on equity of 12.79% and a net margin of 27.49%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Bank First National will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank First National

In other news, Director Michael S. Stayer-Suprick bought 225 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $140.04 per share, for a total transaction of $31,509.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,763.88. This represents a 5.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Todd A. Sprang bought 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $138.96 per share, with a total value of $62,532.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $280,004.40. This represents a 28.75% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.42% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank First National

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Macco Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank First National in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $293,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of Bank First National during the 1st quarter worth $206,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Bank First National by 406.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 370 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank First National by 54.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 3,396 shares of the company's stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 1,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Bank First National by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,769 shares of the company's stock worth $1,677,000 after buying an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. 29.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Bank First National

Bank First National Corporation NASDAQ: BFC is the bank holding company for Bank First National, a community bank headquartered in Princeton, Wisconsin. The company offers a comprehensive suite of financial services designed to meet the needs of individuals, families, small businesses and agricultural clients. Through its branch network and digital channels, Bank First National provides deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage financing and treasury management solutions.

The bank's core deposit products include checking and savings accounts, money market funds and certificates of deposit, complemented by online and mobile banking platforms that enable customers to manage their finances remotely.

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