Insider Selling: Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Sells $323,732.40 in Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director George Cummings III sold 11,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.92, for a total transaction of $323,732.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 296,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,269,345.60. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 0.8%

Business First Bancshares stock opened at $28.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $930.73 million, a PE ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 0.79. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.51 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.64 and a 200-day moving average of $27.29.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $89.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.99 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 11.10%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 21.28%.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 3.2% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 14,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 65,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 7.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 242,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,343,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Business First Bancshares has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.33.

About Business First Bancshares

Business First Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Business First Bank, a regional community bank headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company provides a full suite of commercial and retail banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals and individual consumers. Business First Bancshares operates under a community-focused model, emphasizing personalized service, local decision-making and relationship banking.

The company’s primary business activities include commercial lending, treasury and cash management, and deposit services.