Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

BFC has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Bank First National from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank First National from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Bank First National from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their target price on Bank First National from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $163.00.

Bank First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BFC opened at $150.78 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.74. Bank First National has a 52 week low of $115.29 and a 52 week high of $154.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.05. Bank First National had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 27.70%.The company had revenue of $75.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.25 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank First National will post 9.91 EPS for the current year.

Bank First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 23rd. This is a positive change from Bank First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Bank First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank First National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Bank First National by 2,452,855.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 490,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,764,000 after acquiring an additional 490,571 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Bank First National during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,340,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Bank First National by 112.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 66,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,116,000 after purchasing an additional 35,214 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Bank First National by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 107,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,983,000 after purchasing an additional 31,510 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Bank First National by 212.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 34,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,033,000 after purchasing an additional 23,314 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.95% of the company’s stock.

Bank First National Company Profile

Bank First National Corporation (NASDAQ: BFC) is the bank holding company for Bank First National, a community bank headquartered in Princeton, Wisconsin. The company offers a comprehensive suite of financial services designed to meet the needs of individuals, families, small businesses and agricultural clients. Through its branch network and digital channels, Bank First National provides deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage financing and treasury management solutions.

The bank’s core deposit products include checking and savings accounts, money market funds and certificates of deposit, complemented by online and mobile banking platforms that enable customers to manage their finances remotely.