Zacks Research Upgrades BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) to Strong-Buy

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of BancFirst in a report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered BancFirst from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded BancFirst from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.00.

BancFirst Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of BANF opened at $115.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. BancFirst has a 1-year low of $101.48 and a 1-year high of $138.77. The stock has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.23.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The bank reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $187.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.53 million. BancFirst had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 31.96%. Equities analysts forecast that BancFirst will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BancFirst

In other BancFirst news, Director David E. Rainbolt sold 29,740 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.49, for a total transaction of $3,464,412.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 137,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,964,139.07. This represents a 17.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,960 shares of company stock worth $5,216,138. Corporate insiders own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BancFirst

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP lifted its position in BancFirst by 531.4% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 221 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in BancFirst by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 295 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BancFirst in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of BancFirst during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BancFirst by 957.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. 51.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.