Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Bank First National to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Hovde Group increased 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank First National in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Bank First National from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bank First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.00.

Bank First National Trading Up 0.6%

Bank First National stock opened at $146.00 on Friday. Bank First National has a 52 week low of $93.00 and a 52 week high of $152.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.50.

Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $49.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.75 million. Bank First National had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 29.31%. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank First National will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. This is a positive change from Bank First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Bank First National’s payout ratio is 24.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank First National

In related news, Director Steven M. Eldred sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.95, for a total value of $1,215,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 125,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,097,076. This represents a 5.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank First National

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Bank First National by 2,452,855.0% during the 4th 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 in the fourth quarter worth $6,340,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Bank First National by 112.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 66,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,116,000 after purchasing an additional 35,214 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Bank First National by 41.7% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 107,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,983,000 after buying an additional 31,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank First National in the third quarter valued at about $2,993,000. 29.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Bank First National

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.