Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $30.37 and last traded at $30.3020, with a volume of 3897 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BFST. Stephens set a $33.00 target price on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.33.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 0.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.70. The firm has a market cap of $987.33 million, a P/E ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 21.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director George W. Cummings III sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $428,100.00. Following the transaction, the director 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,595 shares of company stock worth $1,031,732. Insiders own 5.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 389.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.