Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in BancFirst Corporation $BANF

Key Points

• Vanguard Group slightly reduced its BancFirst stake by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,421 shares and ending with 2.27 million shares valued at about $241 million.
• Insider selling has also been notable: Director David E. Rainbolt sold 9,001 shares in May, and insiders have sold 58,217 shares worth $6.7 million over the last 90 days.
• BancFirst posted solid quarterly results, beating earnings expectations with $1.85 EPS versus $1.77 expected, while continuing to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.49, equal to a 1.7% annual yield.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF - Free Report) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,272,814 shares of the bank's stock after selling 9,421 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 6.82% of BancFirst worth $240,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BANF. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of BancFirst by 73.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 163,512 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,676,000 after buying an additional 69,192 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in BancFirst by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 134,175 shares of the bank's stock worth $16,966,000 after purchasing an additional 33,636 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BancFirst in the 1st quarter worth $3,646,000. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in BancFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,328,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in BancFirst by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 62,605 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,916,000 after acquiring an additional 17,092 shares in the last quarter. 51.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at BancFirst

In related news, Director David E. Rainbolt sold 9,001 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.11, for a total value of $1,036,105.11. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 166,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,198,391.13. The trade was a 5.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 58,217 shares of company stock valued at $6,719,223 in the last ninety days. 31.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on BANF. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of BancFirst in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BancFirst from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of BancFirst from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $124.00.

BancFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BANF opened at $112.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.47 and a beta of 0.60. BancFirst Corporation has a 12 month low of $101.48 and a 12 month high of $138.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.32.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.08. BancFirst had a net margin of 31.71% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $179.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BancFirst Corporation will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current year.

BancFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. BancFirst's payout ratio is presently 26.85%.

BancFirst Company Profile

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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