BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) Short Interest Declines 12.2% in November

BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) experienced a notable reduction in short interest in November. As of November 15th, the total short interest stood at 495,100 shares, reflecting a decrease of 12.2% from the 563,800 shares recorded on October 31st. This means that about 2.4% of the company's shares are currently sold short. Given the average trading volume of 120,100 shares per day, the days-to-cover ratio is calculated to be 4.1 days.

Insider Trading Activity

In related news, a director at BancFirst, William Scott Martin, sold 24,607 shares of the company's stock on November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, totaling approximately $3,068,492.90. After this transaction, Martin continues to hold 224,499 shares, which are valued at about $27,995,025.30. This sale represents a 9.88% reduction in his ownership stake. Furthermore, Director David E. Rainbolt sold 1,414 shares on September 3rd at an average price of $105.58, amounting to $149,290.12. Following this sale, he owns 223,402 shares valued at $23,586,783.16, indicating a 0.63% decrease in his holding. Over the last three months, insiders offloaded a total of 160,468 shares valued at $18,656,436, and insiders own 33.89% of the stock.

Institutional Changes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds made moves regarding their positions in BancFirst recently. For instance, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in the bank during the third quarter, valued at around $38,000. This was followed by Blue Trust Inc., which increased its stake by 33.9%, now owning 391 shares valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. also grew its holdings by 64.8%, obtaining 834 shares worth $73,000 following a buy of 328 shares. Point72 DIFC Ltd and nVerses Capital LLC entered new positions in BancFirst worth $77,000 and $105,000 respectively in the second and third quarters. Currently, institutional investors own 51.72% of BancFirst's stock.

Stock Performance Overview

On Friday, NASDAQ BANF opened at $126.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $113.38 and a 200-day moving average of $101.78. The company reports a current ratio and quick ratio both at 0.98, alongside a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. BancFirst's shares have fluctuated over the past year, reaching a low of $81.21 and a high of $132.29. The market capitalization stands at $4.18 billion with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 20.30 and a beta of 1.02.

BancFirst released its quarterly earnings report on October 17th, announcing earnings of $1.75 per share, which exceeded analysts' expectations of $1.57 by $0.18. The bank's revenue for the quarter totaled $163.67 million, surpassing the forecast of $156.70 million. Additionally, BancFirst recorded a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 23.52%. Looking ahead, analysts predict the bank will achieve earnings of 6.37 per share for the current year.

Dividend Announcement

The company has also declared a quarterly dividend, set to be paid on January 15th. Shareholders of record as of December 31st will receive a dividend of $0.46 per share, with the ex-dividend date being the same day. This results in an annualized dividend of $1.84, representing a yield of 1.46%. Currently, the dividend payout ratio is 29.58%.

Analysts' Insights

Recent reports from several research analysts have emerged on BancFirst's stock. DA Davidson has raised its target price for the shares from $104.00 to $110.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating as of October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded BancFirst's rating from "sell" to "hold" on November 7th.

BancFirst Company Overview

BancFirst Corporation is the holding company for BancFirst, providing a wide range of commercial banking services tailored for retail clients as well as small to medium-sized businesses. The company's operations are segmented through BancFirst Metropolitan Banks, BancFirst Community Banks, Pegasus, Worthington, and Other Financial Services.

BancFirst, Finance, Stocks