Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Bank First National Corporation (NASDAQ:BFC) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $148.34, but opened at $138.45. Bank First National shares last traded at $141.9170, with a volume of 14,204 shares trading hands.

The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $75.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.80 million. Bank First National had a net margin of 27.70% and a return on equity of 12.48%.

Bank First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Bank First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 23rd. Bank First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Bank First National from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bank First National from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Bank First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.00.

Insider Transactions at Bank First National

In other news, Director Sistine Peter J. Van sold 1,848 shares of Bank First National stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.57, for a total transaction of $287,493.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,554.80. This trade represents a 19.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bank First National

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Prairie Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Bank First National by 100.4% during the third quarter. Prairie Advisory LLC now owns 74,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,077,000 after buying an additional 37,300 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. grew its holdings in Bank First National by 1,048.3% during the third quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 40,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,015,000 after acquiring an additional 36,900 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Bank First National by 53.8% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Bank First National during the second quarter worth about $228,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Bank First National in the second quarter worth about $424,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.95% of the company’s stock.

Bank First National Trading Down 4.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43 and a beta of 0.42.

About Bank First National

Bank First National, operating as Bank First Corporation (NASDAQ:BFC), is the holding company for Bank First, a community bank headquartered in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The bank provides banking services to individuals, families, businesses and municipalities through locations across Wisconsin.

Its products and services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, residential mortgages, commercial real estate and business lending, agricultural loans, treasury management and online and mobile banking.