The considerable ownership by individual investors in Bank First indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 36% ownership
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Bank First Corporation (NASDAQ:BFC), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 57% to be precise, is individual investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Meanwhile, institutions make up 33% of the company’s shareholders. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time.
Let’s take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Bank First.
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
We can see that Bank First does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company’s stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there’s always a risk that they are in a ‘crowded trade’. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Bank First’s historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there’s always more to the story.
NasdaqCM:BFC Earnings and Revenue Growth June 14th 2025
We note that hedge funds don’t have a meaningful investment in Bank First. BlackRock, Inc. is currently the company’s largest shareholder with 7.1% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are The Vanguard Group, Inc. and Richard Molepske, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 5.9%. Furthermore, CEO Michael Molepske is the owner of 1.1% of the company’s shares.
On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.
Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock’s expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.
Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Bank First Corporation. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful US$116m stake in this US$1.1b business. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.
The general public — including retail investors — own 57% of Bank First. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.
Portfolio Valuation calculation on simply wall st
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this freereport on analyst forecasts.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
