Legal & General Group Plc Makes New $5.40 Million Investment in BancFirst Corporation $BANF

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 48,588 BancFirst shares worth approximately $5.4 million in the second quarter, representing about 0.14% of the bank. Institutional investors collectively own 51.72% of BANF.
• BancFirst exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.96 in EPS versus the $1.80 consensus estimate and revenue of $187.49 million versus $178.53 million expected.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $123 price target; BANF recently opened at $111.75.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 48,588 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $5,400,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.14% of BancFirst as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BANF. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in BancFirst during the 2nd quarter valued at about $356,054,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in BancFirst during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,723,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of BancFirst during the 2nd quarter worth $17,920,000. State Street Corp increased its position in BancFirst by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,375,873 shares of the bank's stock worth $146,537,000 after purchasing an additional 96,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in BancFirst during the fourth quarter worth about $8,316,000. 51.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at BancFirst

In other BancFirst news, Director David Rainbolt sold 8,506 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $978,190.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 166,783 shares of company stock valued at $19,366,509 over the last 90 days. 31.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BancFirst Price Performance

Shares of BANF opened at $111.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.13. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.60. BancFirst Corporation has a 1-year low of $101.48 and a 1-year high of $138.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $187.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.53 million. BancFirst had a net margin of 25.61% and a return on equity of 13.44%. As a group, analysts forecast that BancFirst Corporation will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on BANF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of BancFirst from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of BancFirst in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BancFirst from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings cut BancFirst from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded BancFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, BancFirst has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.00.

About BancFirst

BancFirst Corporation is a regional banking holding company based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As the largest state‐chartered bank in Oklahoma, BancFirst offers a comprehensive suite of financial services to individuals, businesses and government entities. Its core business activities include commercial and consumer banking, mortgage lending, treasury management, equipment financing and electronic banking solutions.

The bank operates a network of more than 60 branches across Oklahoma, serving urban centers such as Oklahoma City and Tulsa, as well as rural communities throughout the state.

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