BancFirst Corporation $BANF Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its holdings in BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF) by 64.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,460 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 4,475 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in BancFirst were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of BancFirst by 16,173.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 12,693 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 12,615 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in BancFirst by 6.6% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,698 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of BancFirst by 15.6% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,489 shares of the bank’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in BancFirst during the 1st quarter worth $998,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in BancFirst by 25.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,715 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,597,000 after buying an additional 2,993 shares during the last quarter. 51.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BancFirst

In related news, Director David E. Rainbolt sold 24,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.55, for a total value of $2,844,147.70. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 182,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,030,562.20. This trade represents a 11.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,835 shares of company stock worth $4,595,988. Corporate insiders own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of BancFirst from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of BancFirst in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BancFirst from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.00.

BancFirst Stock Performance

Shares of BANF stock opened at $116.58 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 0.59. BancFirst Corporation has a 1-year low of $101.48 and a 1-year high of $138.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.13.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The bank reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $187.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.53 million. BancFirst had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 31.96%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BancFirst Corporation will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BancFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.45%.

About BancFirst

BancFirst Corporation is a regional banking holding company based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As the largest state‐chartered bank in Oklahoma, BancFirst offers a comprehensive suite of financial services to individuals, businesses and government entities. Its core business activities include commercial and consumer banking, mortgage lending, treasury management, equipment financing and electronic banking solutions.

The bank operates a network of more than 60 branches across Oklahoma, serving urban centers such as Oklahoma City and Tulsa, as well as rural communities throughout the state.