Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Price Target Raised to $35.00 at DA Davidson

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) had its target price lifted by DA Davidson from $33.00 to $35.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Monday, July 6th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $34.50.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of BFST stock opened at $31.16 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.39 and its 200-day moving average is $28.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.78. Business First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $22.56 and a 52 week high of $31.57.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 17.07%.The company had revenue of $91.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.31 million. Equities research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 21.28%.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director George W. Cummings III sold 15,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $428,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 281,180 shares in the company, valued at $8,024,877.20. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 36,595 shares of company stock valued at $1,031,732 in the last quarter. 5.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 255.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 441,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,948,000 after purchasing an additional 317,650 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 823,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,523,000 after buying an additional 175,284 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 1,532.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,883,000 after buying an additional 149,712 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 467.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 107,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,542,000 after buying an additional 88,693 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,165,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,520,000 after acquiring an additional 81,833 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

About Business First Bancshares

Business First Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Business First Bank, a regional community bank headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company provides a full suite of commercial and retail banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals and individual consumers. Business First Bancshares operates under a community-focused model, emphasizing personalized service, local decision-making and relationship banking.

The company’s primary business activities include commercial lending, treasury and cash management, and deposit services.