BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 739,500 shares, a growth of 23.7% from the March 15th total of 597,600 shares. Approximately 3.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 114,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.4 days.

BancFirst Stock Performance

BANF traded up $2.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $109.54. 151,461 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 101,761. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01 and a beta of 0.82. BancFirst has a 1-year low of $81.56 and a 1-year high of $132.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.09. BancFirst had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 23.52%. The firm had revenue of $164.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.72 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BancFirst will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.84%.

Insider Transactions at BancFirst

In related news, Director William Scott Martin sold 10,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.13, for a total value of $1,191,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 214,499 shares in the company, valued at $25,553,265.87. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.58, for a total transaction of $602,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $723,480. This represents a 45.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,994,350 in the last quarter. 32.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BancFirst

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BANF. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in BancFirst by 155.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 314 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in BancFirst by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 862 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in BancFirst in the 4th quarter worth $135,000. 51.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded BancFirst from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th.

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.