Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Makes New $1.17 Million Investment in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,000 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,172,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BANF. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in BancFirst by 155.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 314 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in BancFirst by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 862 shares of the bank's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of BancFirst by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,162 shares of the bank's stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in BancFirst by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,684 shares of the bank's stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.72% of the company's stock.

BancFirst Stock Performance

Shares of BANF traded down $1.49 on Wednesday, reaching $117.82. 125,056 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 102,255. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $111.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 0.82. BancFirst Co. has a 12 month low of $81.56 and a 12 month high of $132.29.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.09. BancFirst had a net margin of 23.52% and a return on equity of 14.21%. The firm had revenue of $164.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.72 million. Equities analysts forecast that BancFirst Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. BancFirst's payout ratio is 27.84%.

Insider Activity

In other BancFirst news, EVP Darryl Schmidt sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.06, for a total transaction of $610,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,317,421.84. This represents a 10.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William Scott Martin sold 10,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.13, for a total transaction of $1,191,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 214,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,553,265.87. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $2,404,500. Company insiders own 32.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of BancFirst from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

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.