Marshall Wace LLP Takes Position in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)

Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 4,059 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management raised its stake in shares of BancFirst by 4.2% in the first quarter. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management now owns 1,127,415 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $99,246,000 after buying an additional 45,629 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in BancFirst by 58.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 24,140 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,939 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in BancFirst by 85.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,980 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,066 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in BancFirst by 87.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 21,296 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 9,936 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in BancFirst during the first quarter worth about $4,274,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.72% of the company’s stock.

BancFirst Stock Down 1.2 %

BANF stock opened at $103.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.37. BancFirst Co. has a twelve month low of $79.99 and a twelve month high of $111.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.09. BancFirst had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 13.89%. The company had revenue of $153.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.75 million. On average, equities analysts predict that BancFirst Co. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BancFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from BancFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BANF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of BancFirst from $84.50 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of BancFirst from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Insider Activity at BancFirst

In other BancFirst news, major shareholder Main Street Banking Partners L sold 22,114 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.46, for a total value of $2,332,142.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,958,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $522,880,698.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Dennis Jay Hannah sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $319,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $821,541. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Main Street Banking Partners L sold 22,114 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.46, for a total value of $2,332,142.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,958,095 shares in the company, valued at $522,880,698.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 67,564 shares of company stock valued at $7,150,517. Company insiders own 33.89% of the company’s stock.

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.