Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 1,300 Shares of BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its position in shares of BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF – Get Rating) by 19.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,258 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in BancFirst were worth $470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Castle Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BancFirst during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BancFirst during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Venture Visionary Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BancFirst in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in shares of BancFirst in the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of BancFirst in the 2nd quarter worth about $66,000. 45.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BancFirst Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of BancFirst stock opened at $86.73 on Thursday. BancFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $71.67 and a 52-week high of $118.07. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 20th. The bank reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.09. BancFirst had a return on equity of 14.76% and a net margin of 32.00%. The firm had revenue of $150.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $143.35 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BancFirst Co. will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

BancFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 29th. BancFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BANF shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BancFirst in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on BancFirst to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 27th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dave R. Lopez sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $185,920.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 35.70% of the company’s stock.

BancFirst Profile

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BancFirst Corporation operates as the bank holding company for BancFirst that provides a range of commercial banking services to retail customers, and small to medium-sized businesses. It operates through Metropolitan Banks, Community Banks, Pegasus Bank, and Other Financial Services segments. The company offers checking accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, sweep accounts, club accounts, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as overdraft protection and auto draft services.