Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Joseph Vernon Johnson Sells 6,000 Shares

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 6,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.36, for a total transaction of $158,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,891,282.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Joseph Vernon Johnson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, November 4th, Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 2,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $65,825.00.
• On Tuesday, October 29th, Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of Business First Bancshares stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total value of $105,987.40.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock traded up $0.08 on Tuesday, reaching $26.09. 91,261 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 62,276. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.97 and a fifty-two week high of $27.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $770.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $25.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.01.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.11. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The firm had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $106,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $116,000. KG&L Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $227,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 5,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.0% in the second quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 12,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Hovde Group boosted their price target on Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

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.