Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,276 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 29,050 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in BancFirst were worth $10,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in BancFirst by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 37,107 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,906,000 after acquiring an additional 10,425 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of BancFirst by 3.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the bank’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 13.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 482,785 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,823,000 after purchasing an additional 58,016 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of BancFirst by 33.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 391 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in BancFirst in the 3rd quarter worth about $671,000. Institutional investors own 51.72% of the company’s stock.

BancFirst Trading Down 0.2 %

BancFirst stock opened at $119.62 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.19. BancFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $81.21 and a 52-week high of $132.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23 and a beta of 1.05.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $163.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.70 million. BancFirst had a net margin of 23.52% and a return on equity of 13.92%. Analysts predict that BancFirst Co. will post 6.37 EPS for the current year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.58%.

Insider Activity at BancFirst

In related news, Director Leslie Jeannine Rainbolt sold 2,152 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.47, for a total transaction of $237,731.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,942,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,003,498.50. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dennis Jay Hannah sold 10,543 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.58, for a total value of $1,334,532.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $197,971.12. The trade was a 87.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 129,150 shares of company stock worth $15,442,825. Corporate insiders own 33.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of BancFirst from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of BancFirst from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of BancFirst from $117.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

About BancFirst

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.