BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) Short Interest Up 5.7% in June

BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 361,700 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the May 31st total of 342,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 65,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.5 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

BancFirst Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BANF opened at $86.60 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 1.04. BancFirst has a 12-month low of $79.99 and a 12-month high of $104.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $87.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $151.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $147.75 million. BancFirst had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 14.62%. Sell-side analysts expect that BancFirst will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

BancFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kevin Lawrence sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other BancFirst news, EVP Dennis Jay Hannah sold 5,496 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.23, for a total transaction of $506,896.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,714 shares in the company, valued at $988,152.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin Lawrence sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,000 shares of company stock worth $1,453,360. Company insiders own 33.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of BancFirst by 87.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 21,296 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,874,000 after buying an additional 9,936 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in BancFirst in the 1st quarter valued at about $105,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in BancFirst by 9.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of BancFirst by 56.8% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 842 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of BancFirst by 2.6% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 23,065 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. 51.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.