Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Short Interest Update

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 164,600 shares, a growth of 7.2% from the May 31st total of 153,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 47,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.30 per share, with a total value of $36,540.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 262,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,334,535.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $552,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 25.1% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 295,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,552,000 after acquiring an additional 59,297 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,276,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,945,000 after acquiring an additional 16,094 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 shares during the period. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 93.4% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 17,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BFST traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.24. 19,434 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 50,684. The stock has a market capitalization of $541.62 million, a PE ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.85. Business First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $14.39 and a 52 week high of $25.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $60.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.93 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 17.08%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 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.