Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.67.

Separately, Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.71, for a total transaction of $39,387.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,497.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.71, for a total transaction of $39,387.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $529,497.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Saundra Strong sold 6,300 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.32, for a total value of $159,516.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,483. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,406 shares of company stock valued at $340,372. Company insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $10,968,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 19.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,115,000 after acquiring an additional 68,506 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 8.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 669,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,568,000 after purchasing an additional 50,955 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $802,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 2,249.7% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 22,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 21,395 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 5.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST opened at $24.14 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.43 and its 200 day moving average is $21.72. Business First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $17.88 and a 12-month high of $26.68. The stock has a market cap of $615.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $112.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.16 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 12.19%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, August 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 22.05%.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

Business First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for b1BANK that provides various banking products and services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products and services, including checking, demand, money market, time, and savings accounts; and certificates of deposits, remote deposit capture, and direct deposit services.