HighTower Advisors LLC Takes $567,000 Position in Bank First National Corporation $BFC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has acquired 5,627 shares of Bank First National, amounting to approximately $567,000, which represents a 0.06% ownership in the company.
• Bank First National's stock has seen action from various institutional investors, including a 12.3% increase in holdings by Vanguard Group, demonstrating strong investor interest.
• Recent analysts' ratings indicate mixed views, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock to "sell," while Hovde Group upgraded it to "outperform," illustrating varying confidence in BFC's performance.

HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Bank First National Corporation (NASDAQ:BFC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $567,000. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Bank First National as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank First National by 12.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 581,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,622,000 after buying an additional 63,568 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Bank First National by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 95,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,477,000 after buying an additional 5,098 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Bank First National by 57.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 30,247 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after buying an additional 11,096 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Bank First National in the first quarter valued at $2,607,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Bank First National by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 17,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,696,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 29.95% of the company's stock.

Bank First National Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of BFC traded down $0.64 on Wednesday, reaching $128.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 41,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 69,009. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Bank First National Corporation has a twelve month low of $85.81 and a twelve month high of $132.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $123.06 and a 200-day moving average of $113.12.

Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $41.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.85 million. Bank First National had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 29.04%. Equities analysts predict that Bank First National Corporation will post 6.9 EPS for the current year.

Bank First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 24th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Bank First National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BFC. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Bank First National from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank First National from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Hovde Group upgraded shares of Bank First National from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank First National has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael S. Stayer-Suprick acquired 410 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $122.67 per share, for a total transaction of $50,294.70. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $486,386.55. This represents a 11.53% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

About Bank First National

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.