BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 430,800 shares, an increase of 31.0% from the February 28th total of 328,900 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 134,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Institutional Trading of BOK Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in BOK Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,138,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BOK Financial by 433.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,216 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $981,000 after buying an additional 7,487 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management bought a new stake in shares of BOK Financial in the fourth quarter worth $444,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in BOK Financial by 85.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,245 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $984,000 after acquiring an additional 4,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BOK Financial by 166.9% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $799,000 after acquiring an additional 4,692 shares during the period. 34.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BOK Financial Price Performance

Shares of BOKF opened at $103.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.20. BOK Financial has a twelve month low of $85.02 and a twelve month high of $121.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $106.97 and a 200 day moving average of $109.26.

BOK Financial (NASDAQ:BOKF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.15. BOK Financial had a return on equity of 9.86% and a net margin of 15.32%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BOK Financial will post 8.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BOK Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. BOK Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on BOKF. StockNews.com cut BOK Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on BOK Financial from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on BOK Financial from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of BOK Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on shares of BOK Financial from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.11.

About BOK Financial

BOK Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for BOKF, NA that provides various financial products and services in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Northwest Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas/Missouri. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, and Wealth Management.