Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of Bank First National from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Bank First National from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank First National in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.00.

Bank First National Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ BFC opened at $137.32 on Friday. Bank First National has a twelve month low of $93.00 and a twelve month high of $142.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $49.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.75 million. Bank First National had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 29.31%. Analysts expect that Bank First National will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Bank First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Bank First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Bank First National by 102.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 17,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after buying an additional 8,672 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Bank First National by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Bank First National by 58.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 20,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,100,000 after purchasing an additional 7,656 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Bank First National by 194.8% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 10,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 7,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Bank First National by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224 shares in the last quarter. 29.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Bank First National News

Here are the key news stories impacting Bank First National this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reported Q4 beat — Bank First posted $2.00 EPS vs. a $1.75 consensus and revenue of $49.68M vs. $43.75M expected; margins and profitability were strong, which supports near-term share strength. Zacks: BFC Beats Q4
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend raised — the board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.50/share (11.1% increase from $0.45). Record/ex-dividend timing announced (record Mar 25; pay Apr 8), which signals confidence in earnings and returns capital to shareholders. PR Newswire: Dividend & Net Income
• Positive Sentiment: Company-level results — PR Newswire/press materials show Q4 net income of $18.4M and full-year net income of $71.5M, with annual EPS of $7.23 and solid quarterly annualized ROA (~1.65%). These fundamentals back the earnings beat and dividend increase. PR Newswire: Net Income Details
• Neutral Sentiment: Higher trading interest — volume spiked well above average during the move, indicating increased investor attention; price sits near its 52-week high and above both the 50- and 200-day moving averages, which could limit further upside without continued catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Modest yield and valuation — the new dividend yields ~1.4% and the stock trades at a P/E around 19, which may temper interest from income-focused investors seeking higher yields.

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.