Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Rick Day Acquires 1,500 Shares

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Rick Day purchased 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $31.61 per share, with a total value of $47,415.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 269,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,531,570.61. This trade represents a 0.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Business First Bancshares Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ BFST opened at $32.01 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $29.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.37. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.78. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.56 and a 1-year high of $32.33.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $91.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 17.07%. Equities analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $1,608,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 989,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,761,000 after purchasing an additional 3,540 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 3.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 121,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,283,000 after purchasing an additional 3,997 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 63.3% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 18,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 6,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FreeGulliver LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $812,000. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Hovde Group boosted their target price 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, July 24th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.50.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

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.