E&G Advisors LP Takes $702,000 Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

E&G Advisors LP purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 27,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $702,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 921.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 295,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,580,000 after purchasing an additional 266,380 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 194.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 196,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,037,000 after acquiring an additional 129,677 shares during the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at about $1,150,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 171,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,365,000 after buying an additional 34,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 384,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,862,000 after purchasing an additional 33,870 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $26.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $785.20 million, a PE ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.64. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.97 and a 52 week high of $30.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 14.19%. As a group, analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 24.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BFST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

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.