Short Interest in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Increases By 9.9%

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 175,800 shares, an increase of 9.9% from the August 31st total of 159,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 84,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

BFST stock opened at $25.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $649.54 million, a PE ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.27. Business First Bancshares has a one year low of $17.90 and a one year high of $26.85.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $112.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Business First Bancshares will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Saundra Strong sold 6,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.32, for a total transaction of $159,516.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,483. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Saundra Strong sold 6,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $285,483. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 20,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,497.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,906 shares of company stock worth $377,392. 6.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFST. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $116,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 75.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 5,004 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 12,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.