Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Bank First Co. (NASDAQ:BFC) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 24,276 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 45% from the previous session’s volume of 16,761 shares.The stock last traded at $100.22 and had previously closed at $103.42.

Bank First Trading Down 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $100.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.83.

Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.19. Bank First had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 29.00%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bank First Co. will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank First Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 26th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 26th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Bank First’s payout ratio is currently 27.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank First

In other news, Director Michael S. Stayer-Suprick purchased 1,000 shares of Bank First stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $102.07 per share, for a total transaction of $102,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $309,782.45. This represents a 49.14 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Bank First by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,362,000 after purchasing an additional 10,789 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Bank First by 3.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 238,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,701,000 after buying an additional 7,822 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Bank First by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 222,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,158,000 after buying an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Bank First by 88.7% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 179,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,818,000 after acquiring an additional 84,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Bank First by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 95,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,477,000 after acquiring an additional 5,098 shares in the last quarter. 29.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank First Company Profile

Bank First Corporation operates as a holding company for Bank First, N.A. that provides consumer and commercial financial services to businesses, professionals, consumers, associations, individuals, and governmental authorities in Wisconsin. It offers checking, savings, money market, cash management, retirement, and health savings accounts; other time deposits; certificates of deposit; and residential mortgage products.