BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 430,800 shares, a growth of 31.0% from the February 28th total of 328,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 134,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of BOK Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BOKF. 111 Capital bought a new position in BOK Financial in the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of BOK Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $559,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BOK Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,896,000. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in BOK Financial by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,362 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in BOK Financial by 42.7% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 18,762 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 5,617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 34.44% of the company’s stock.

BOK Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:BOKF opened at $104.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.79. BOK Financial has a one year low of $85.02 and a one year high of $121.58. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $107.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.26. The stock has a market cap of $6.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 1.20.

BOK Financial (NASDAQ:BOKF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.15. BOK Financial had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 9.86%. Analysts anticipate that BOK Financial will post 8.83 earnings per share for the current year.

BOK Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. BOK Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of BOK Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens cut their price objective on BOK Financial from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com cut BOK Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of BOK Financial from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of BOK Financial from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.11.

BOK Financial Company Profile

BOK Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for BOKF, NA that provides various financial products and services in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Northwest Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas/Missouri. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, and Wealth Management.