Short Interest in Bank First Co. (NASDAQ:BFC) Drops By 11.0%

Bank First Co. (NASDAQ:BFC) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 162,200 shares, a drop of 11.0% from the October 31st total of 182,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 18,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.7 days.

Bank First Stock Up 0.2 %

Bank First stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $107.05. The stock had a trading volume of 4,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,346. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Bank First has a 1-year low of $74.90 and a 1-year high of $110.49.

Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $58.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.60 million. Bank First had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 10.10%. As a group, analysts expect that Bank First will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank First Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. This is an increase from Bank First’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. Bank First’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Bank First from $99.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

Institutional Trading of Bank First

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BFC. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Bank First by 167.3% during the second 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. F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Bank First in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,560,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Bank First by 169.3% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 5,731 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Bank First by 10.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 45,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,792,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Bank First by 158.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after buying an additional 7,703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.95% of the company’s stock.

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.