Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Declares $0.15 Quarterly Dividend

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share on Monday, August 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th.

Business First Bancshares has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Business First Bancshares has a payout ratio of 20.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Business First Bancshares to earn $3.27 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.3%.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ BFST opened at $30.47 on Friday. Business First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $22.56 and a fifty-two week high of $31.57. The stock has a market cap of $995.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.30 and a 200-day moving average of $28.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $91.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 17.02%. As a group, analysts predict that Business First Bancshares will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George W. Cummings III sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,024,877.20. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 36,595 shares of company stock valued at $1,031,732 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,591,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,566,000 after acquiring an additional 17,690 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 7.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,165,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,520,000 after acquiring an additional 81,833 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 0.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 989,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,761,000 after purchasing an additional 3,540 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 823,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,523,000 after purchasing an additional 175,284 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 731,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,119,000 after purchasing an additional 14,576 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

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.