BancFirst Corporation $BANF Shares Sold by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in BancFirst Corporation by 15.4%, selling 7,475 shares, leaving them with approximately 41,043 shares valued at $4,509,000.
• BancFirst's recent quarterly earnings report showed an earnings per share of $1.85, exceeding estimates, and the company also announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.46 to $0.49 per share.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings on BancFirst, with target prices for the stock now ranging from $132 to $136, reflecting a positive outlook despite alterations in institutional investors' positions.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF - Free Report) by 15.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,043 shares of the bank's stock after selling 7,475 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of BancFirst worth $4,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in BancFirst by 3.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 108,842 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,958,000 after purchasing an additional 3,594 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in BancFirst by 34,094.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 63,944 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,026,000 after acquiring an additional 63,757 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of BancFirst by 114.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,518 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 10,404 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of BancFirst by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 72,677 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,985,000 after purchasing an additional 10,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of BancFirst during the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,912,000. 51.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BANF. Wall Street Zen raised BancFirst from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on BancFirst from $120.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on BancFirst from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $134.00.

BancFirst Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:BANF traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $133.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 43,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,522. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. BancFirst Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $97.02 and a fifty-two week high of $138.77. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $128.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.01. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 0.79.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $169.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $163.62 million. BancFirst had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 14.16%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BancFirst Corporation will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

BancFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from BancFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. BancFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.29, for a total transaction of $631,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at $757,740. This represents a 45.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 32.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.