In Brief: BancFirst of Okla. Buys Back $45M of Stock

BancFirst Corp. on Wednesday repurchased $45 million of its stock through a Dutch auction.

BancFirst used cash and a $7.6 million revolving line of credit to repurchase nearly 1.2 million shares at a maximum price of $38 a share. Earnings per share will rise about 20 cents annually as a result of the auction, the company said.

BancFirst's stock on Friday hit $32, its low for the year.

"The tender offer is an effective use of our capital," said Randy Foraker, senior vice president and controller of BancFirst. It also "provides us with a good return on the funds that were used."

Analysts said BancFirst used the seldom-used Dutch auction method to buy back its stock-which is less liquid than that of large banks- efficiently. Normally, companies repurchase stock directly from the market over a period of time.

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