Short Interest in BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) Rises By 13.8%

BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 445,500 shares, a growth of 13.8% from the February 29th total of 391,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 166,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company's shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of BOK Financial from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $94.00 price target on shares of BOK Financial in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of BOK Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Stephens increased their price target on shares of BOK Financial from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of BOK Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BOK Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BOK Financial news, Director Steven Bangert sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total value of $244,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,159,866.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 56.94% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BOK Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BOKF. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BOK Financial by 39.7% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,991 shares of the bank's stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in BOK Financial by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 22,879 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,150,000 after acquiring an additional 3,193 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in BOK Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 267,871 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,166,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in BOK Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in BOK Financial by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 16,669 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 34.44% of the company's stock.

BOK Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BOKF traded up $0.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $92.00. 169,766 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 185,266. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.20. BOK Financial has a 52-week low of $62.42 and a 52-week high of $92.41.

BOK Financial (NASDAQ:BOKF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.49). The company had revenue of $843.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $485.87 million. BOK Financial had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 11.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.51 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that BOK Financial will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current year.

BOK Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. BOK Financial's payout ratio is 27.50%.

BOK Financial Company Profile

BOK Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for BOKF, NA that provides various financial products and services in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Northwest Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas/Missouri. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, and Wealth Management.