BancFirst Corporation $BANF Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF) by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 113,346 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 14,333 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in BancFirst were worth $14,333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management grew its position in BancFirst by 0.8% during the third quarter. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management now owns 886,571 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $113,224,000 after acquiring an additional 7,056 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of BancFirst by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 501,163 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of BancFirst in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,326,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BancFirst by 648.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 164,160 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,294,000 after purchasing an additional 142,232 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in BancFirst by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 96,913 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,980,000 after purchasing an additional 2,175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.72% of the company’s stock.

BancFirst Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:BANF opened at $119.63 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. BancFirst Corporation has a 52-week low of $97.02 and a 52-week high of $138.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.09. The company has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.66.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $181.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.76 million. BancFirst had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 25.13%. As a group, analysts forecast that BancFirst Corporation will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BancFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. BancFirst’s payout ratio is currently 27.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on BANF. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of BancFirst in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of BancFirst from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of BancFirst from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.50.

BancFirst Company Profile

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.