Principal Financial Group Inc. Takes $2.50 Million Position in Bank First National Corporation $BFC

Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank First National Corporation (NASDAQ:BFC) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 20,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,495,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Bank First National during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank First National by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank First National by 17,650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Bank First National by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 816 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Bank First National in the third quarter valued at $103,000. 29.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Bank First National

In related news, Director Steven M. Eldred sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total value of $1,160,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 133,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,386,273.60. This represents a 5.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on BFC shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Bank First National from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of Bank First National from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank First National to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank First National in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Bank First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank First National presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $150.00.

Bank First National Trading Up 0.6%

BFC opened at $146.00 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $134.04 and its 200-day moving average is $128.50. Bank First National Corporation has a 52-week low of $93.00 and a 52-week high of $152.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19 and a beta of 0.42.

Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.25. Bank First National had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The business had revenue of $49.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.75 million. Analysts expect that Bank First National Corporation will post 6.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. This is a positive change from Bank First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Bank First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.90%.

Bank First National Profile

Bank First National Corporation (NASDAQ: BFC) is the bank holding company for Bank First National, a community bank headquartered in Princeton, Wisconsin. The company offers a comprehensive suite of financial services designed to meet the needs of individuals, families, small businesses and agricultural clients. Through its branch network and digital channels, Bank First National provides deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage financing and treasury management solutions.

The bank’s core deposit products include checking and savings accounts, money market funds and certificates of deposit, complemented by online and mobile banking platforms that enable customers to manage their finances remotely.