PDT Partners LLC Sells 2,435 Shares of BancFirst Corporation $BANF

Key Points

• PDT Partners LLC reduced its stake in BancFirst Corporation by 21.7%, selling 2,435 shares, leaving it with a total of 8,783 shares valued at $965,000.
• BancFirst recently reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding expectations, and announced a dividend increase from $0.46 to $0.49 per share, effective October 15th.
• Research firms have adjusted their ratings on BancFirst, with analysts issuing a target price range between $132.00 and $136.00 and maintaining an average rating of "Hold."

PDT Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF - Free Report) by 21.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,783 shares of the bank's stock after selling 2,435 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC's holdings in BancFirst were worth $965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in BancFirst by 4.4% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,419 shares of the bank's stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in BancFirst in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in BancFirst by 92.9% in the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 31,890 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,504,000 after buying an additional 15,354 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in BancFirst by 14.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,861 shares of the bank's stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BancFirst by 5.6% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the bank's stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. 51.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BancFirst Price Performance

Shares of BANF traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $134.17. The stock had a trading volume of 36,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,503. The firm has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27 and a beta of 0.79. BancFirst Corporation has a 12 month low of $97.02 and a 12 month high of $138.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $128.57 and a 200 day moving average of $120.91. 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 (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $169.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $163.62 million. BancFirst had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 14.16%. Equities analysts predict that BancFirst Corporation will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

BancFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from BancFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. BancFirst's payout ratio is presently 26.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at BancFirst

In other news, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.29, for a total value of $631,450.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $757,740. The trade was a 45.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 32.43% of the company's stock.

About BancFirst

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.