Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Issues Earnings Results

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $91.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 17.02%.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.1%

Business First Bancshares stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $30.47. The stock had a trading volume of 246,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,238. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Business First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $22.56 and a twelve month high of $31.57. The firm has a market cap of $995.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George W. Cummings III sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $428,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 281,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,024,877.20. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 36,595 shares of company stock valued at $1,031,732 in the last ninety days. 5.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 15,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,092 shares during the period. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the third quarter worth $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 389.7% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the third quarter worth $123,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Business First Bancshares by 43.3% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Stephens set a $33.00 target price on Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.33.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

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.