BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ:BOKF) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 625,300 shares, a growth of 14.7% from the August 15th total of 545,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 182,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

BOK Financial Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ BOKF traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $81.42. 107,891 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 201,143. The company has a 50 day moving average of $85.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 1.21. BOK Financial has a 52-week low of $74.40 and a 52-week high of $110.85.

BOK Financial (NASDAQ:BOKF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The bank reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.28 by ($0.01). BOK Financial had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 13.48%. The firm had revenue of $531.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $521.10 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that BOK Financial will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

BOK Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 14th. BOK Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BOKF shares. Stephens lifted their price objective on BOK Financial from $93.00 to $94.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. VNET Group reissued a “maintains” rating on shares of BOK Financial in a report on Thursday, June 29th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of BOK Financial from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of BOK Financial from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of BOK Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BOK Financial news, Director Steven Bangert sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.61, for a total value of $181,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 53,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,989.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 57.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BOKF. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in BOK Financial by 11,085.4% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 357,933 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,150,000 after purchasing an additional 354,733 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of BOK Financial by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,231,625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $115,711,000 after buying an additional 332,904 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BOK Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $30,754,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in BOK Financial by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 587,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,975,000 after acquiring an additional 252,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp grew its holdings in shares of BOK Financial by 12.7% during the first quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 1,179,958 shares of the bank’s stock worth $99,600,000 after purchasing an additional 132,620 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.67% of the company’s stock.

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.