Bank First Co. (NASDAQ:BFC) Short Interest Down 8.1% in August

Bank First Co. (NASDAQ:BFC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 178,200 shares, a decline of 8.1% from the July 31st total of 193,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 26,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank First

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Bank First by 61.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,478 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Bank First by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Bank First by 158.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 7,703 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Bank First by 167.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 37,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,128,000 after acquiring an additional 23,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Bank First by 65,700.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. 29.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank First Trading Down 2.9 %

BFC stock traded down $2.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $91.29. 14,021 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,127. Bank First has a 1-year low of $70.00 and a 1-year high of $96.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $913.81 million, a PE ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.81.

Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.13. Bank First had a return on equity of 10.07% and a net margin of 32.18%. The firm had revenue of $55.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.70 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bank First will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank First Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. This is an increase from Bank First’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 25th. Bank First’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Bank First from $84.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th.

Bank First Company Profile

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.