Womack Financial LLC Buys New Holdings in Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Womack Financial LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 43,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,348,000. Business First Bancshares comprises about 0.9% of Womack Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BFST. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 15,600.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in 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 valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 2,124 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $123,000. 47.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, COO Keith Mansfield sold 4,200 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total value of $134,736.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,474,619.12. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Saundra Strong sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.98, for a total transaction of $31,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $155,998.44. The trade was a 17.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 75,670 shares of company stock worth $2,314,873 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.67% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ BFST opened at $31.30 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.92. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.56 and a 52-week high of $32.53.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $91.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 17.07%. Equities research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 21.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BFST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Monday, July 6th. Stephens upped their price target on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.50.

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.