Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Bank First National from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Hovde Group upped their target price on Bank First National from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Bank First National from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank First National presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank First National Stock Performance

Shares of Bank First National stock opened at $153.75 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99 and a beta of 0.41. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $152.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.02. Bank First National has a 52 week low of $119.08 and a 52 week high of $159.10.

Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $65.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.25 million. Bank First National had a net margin of 27.70% and a return on equity of 12.48%. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank First National will post 9.91 EPS for the current year.

Bank First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from Bank First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Bank First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.61%.

Insider Transactions at Bank First National

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

Institutional Trading of Bank First National

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Bank First National during the second quarter valued at $121,853,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Bank First National by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 159,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,565,000 after purchasing an additional 27,953 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Bank First National by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 73,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,864,000 after buying an additional 6,416 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank First National in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,340,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Bank First National in the second quarter worth about $6,689,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.95% of the company’s stock.

Bank First National Company Profile

Bank First National, operating through Bank First Corporation, is a Wisconsin-based community bank that provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and municipalities. The company offers checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential mortgages, consumer loans, commercial lending and agricultural financing.

Bank First also provides business banking solutions such as treasury management, cash management, payment services, online and mobile banking, and other commercial financial products.