Strength Seen in BancFirst (BANF): Can Its 4.0% Jump Turn into More Strength?
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BancFirst (BANF) shares ended the last trading session 4% higher at $105.29. The jump came on an impressive volume with a higher-than-average number of shares changing hands in the session. This compares to the stock's 1.2% gain over the past four weeks.
Prospects of the first interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve since March 2020 are turning investors bullish on bank stocks. As the rates will come down, loan demand is expected to improve. Thus, these factors drove the BANF stock higher.
This Oklahoma financial services holding company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.55 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +2%. Revenues are expected to be $156.6 million, up 5.3% from the year-ago quarter.
While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
For BancFirst, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on BANF going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
BancFirst is a member of the Zacks Banks - Southwest industry. One other stock in the same industry, Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR), finished the last trading session 1.8% higher at $108.59. CFR has returned 1% over the past month.
For Cullen/Frost , the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed +0.3% over the past month to $2.18. This represents a change of -8.4% from what the company reported a year ago. Cullen/Frost currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
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BancFirst Corporation (BANF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (CFR) : Free Stock Analysis Report