BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF) Stock Position Lifted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,842 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 3,594 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.33% of BancFirst worth $11,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of BancFirst by 211.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 582 shares of the bank's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of BancFirst by 779.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the bank's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of BancFirst by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 862 shares of the bank's stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of BancFirst during the 4th quarter worth about $135,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of BancFirst by 12.4% during 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 in the last quarter. 51.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BANF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BancFirst from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of BancFirst to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th.

BancFirst Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BANF traded up $3.47 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $131.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 269,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,246. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $125.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.39. BancFirst Corporation has a one year low of $95.78 and a one year high of $132.70. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.77.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.19. BancFirst had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 13.90%. On average, equities research analysts expect that BancFirst Corporation will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. BancFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.84%.

Insider Activity at BancFirst

In other news, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $620,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $744,720. This trade represents a 45.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Randy Foraker sold 4,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.61, for a total transaction of $506,440.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 32.43% of the company's stock.

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.