Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Sells $141,468.12 in Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $141,468.12. Following the transaction, the director now owns 213,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,415,000.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Business First Bancshares stock opened at $22.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $582.93 million, a P/E ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $21.95 and its 200 day moving average is $21.79. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.88 and a twelve month high of $26.68.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $112.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.16 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 15.90%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, August 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Hovde Group upped their target price on Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $216,000. KG&L Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 75.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 5,004 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Business First Bancshares

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.