Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $1.70 Million Holdings in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,536 shares of the bank's stock after selling 5,464 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in BancFirst were worth $1,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of BancFirst by 155.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 314 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in BancFirst by 779.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the bank's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in BancFirst by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 862 shares of the bank's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in BancFirst during the 4th quarter worth $135,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in BancFirst by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,162 shares of the bank's stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. 51.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Scott Martin sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.13, for a total transaction of $1,191,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 214,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,553,265.87. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 32.43% of the company's stock.

BancFirst Stock Performance

Shares of BANF traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $129.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,531. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50-day moving average is $113.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.84. BancFirst Co. has a one year low of $81.56 and a one year high of $132.29.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.09. BancFirst had a net margin of 23.52% and a return on equity of 14.21%. The business had revenue of $164.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $161.72 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BancFirst Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. BancFirst's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised BancFirst from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

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.