Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Shares Acquired by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 472,430 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 88,230 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Business First Bancshares were worth $12,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 3,883 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $304,000. Americana Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $317,000. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $466,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 0.9 %

BFST opened at $24.63 on Tuesday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.97 and a 12 month high of $30.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $727.87 million, a P/E ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.25.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 24.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hovde Group upgraded Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James upgraded Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In other news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.46 per share, with a total value of $38,190.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 264,285 shares in the company, valued at $6,728,696.10. This trade represents a 0.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.