Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Bank First Co. (NASDAQ:BFC) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 36,277 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 34% from the previous session’s volume of 26,992 shares.The stock last traded at $114.41 and had previously closed at $114.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BFC. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Bank First from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Bank First from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Bank First Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $110.66 and its 200-day moving average is $105.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 0.39.

Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $43.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.80 million. Bank First had a net margin of 29.00% and a return on equity of 10.53%. Equities analysts predict that Bank First Co. will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank First Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $3.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Bank First’s previous dividend of $0.20. Bank First’s payout ratio is 26.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank First during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bank First by 771.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 305 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Bank First by 176.3% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Bank First during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $189,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank First by 17,300.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,903 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 29.95% of the company’s stock.

About Bank First

Bank First Corporation operates as a holding company for Bank First, N.A. that provides consumer and commercial financial services to businesses, professionals, consumers, associations, individuals, and governmental authorities in Wisconsin. It offers checking, savings, money market, cash management, retirement, and health savings accounts; other time deposits; certificates of deposit; and residential mortgage products.