BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF)’s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $111.76 and traded as high as $121.03. BancFirst shares last traded at $120.04, with a volume of 152,092 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BANF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded BancFirst from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of BancFirst in a report on Friday, June 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.00.

BancFirst Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $112.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91 and a beta of 0.59.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $179.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.19 million. BancFirst had a net margin of 25.50% and a return on equity of 13.62%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that BancFirst Corporation will post 7.39 EPS for the current year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. BancFirst’s payout ratio is presently 26.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David E. Rainbolt sold 24,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.55, for a total transaction of $2,844,147.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 182,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,030,562.20. This represents a 11.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 58,217 shares of company stock valued at $6,719,222 in the last three months. Insiders own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in BancFirst by 645.7% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 32,139 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,487,000 after buying an additional 27,829 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in BancFirst by 17.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,169 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,056,000 after buying an additional 4,123 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in BancFirst by 377.1% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,482 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,548,000 after buying an additional 18,560 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in BancFirst by 1.8% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 11,643 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 42.1% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 7,394 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $802,000 after acquiring an additional 2,192 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.72% of the company’s stock.

About BancFirst

BancFirst Corporation is a regional banking holding company based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As the largest state‐chartered bank in Oklahoma, BancFirst offers a comprehensive suite of financial services to individuals, businesses and government entities. Its core business activities include commercial and consumer banking, mortgage lending, treasury management, equipment financing and electronic banking solutions.

The bank operates a network of more than 60 branches across Oklahoma, serving urban centers such as Oklahoma City and Tulsa, as well as rural communities throughout the state.