Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 18,189 Shares of Bank First National Corporation $BFC

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Bank First National Corporation (NASDAQ:BFC) by 57.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,656 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,189 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank First National were worth $1,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BFC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Bank First National by 2,452,855.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 490,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,764,000 after purchasing an additional 490,571 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank First National during the fourth quarter worth $6,340,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bank First National by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 107,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,983,000 after purchasing an additional 31,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank First National by 212.7% during the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 34,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,033,000 after purchasing an additional 23,314 shares during the last quarter. 29.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank First National Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ BFC opened at $151.29 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.64. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67 and a beta of 0.41. Bank First National Corporation has a 12-month low of $115.29 and a 12-month high of $154.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $75.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.25 million. Bank First National had a net margin of 27.70% and a return on equity of 13.02%. On average, analysts forecast that Bank First National Corporation will post 9.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Bank First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Bank First National’s payout ratio is presently 31.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BFC. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Bank First National from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank First National from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Bank First National from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Bank First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank First National presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.00.

Bank First National 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.