BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

BancFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BANF opened at $100.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $114.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. BancFirst has a 52-week low of $81.21 and a 52-week high of $132.29.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.07. BancFirst had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 23.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BancFirst will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BancFirst

In other news, Director William Scott Martin sold 10,000 shares of BancFirst stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.13, for a total transaction of $1,191,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 214,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,553,265.87. The trade was a 4.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director F Ford Drummond sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.97, for a total value of $589,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,820. The trade was a 45.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,994,350 over the last 90 days. 33.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANF. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 13,403 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in BancFirst in the 4th quarter worth about $807,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BancFirst by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 66,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,746,000 after purchasing an additional 16,010 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 284.7% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 17,978 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,107,000 after buying an additional 13,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BancFirst by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 17,806 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after buying an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. 51.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.