Insider Buying: Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Buys 6,036 Shares of Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Rating) Director John P. Ducrest purchased 6,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.10 per share, with a total value of $85,107.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,036 shares in the company, valued at $85,107.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Business First Bancshares stock opened at $13.89 on Monday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.05 and a 1 year high of $25.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $351.69 million, a P/E ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.78.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $61.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.34 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 19.96% and a return on equity of 13.77%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 31st. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.75%.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 37.9% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,071,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,480,000 after buying an additional 569,408 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,037,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,347,000 after acquiring an additional 18,320 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 692,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,334,000 after purchasing an additional 56,724 shares during the last quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 109.6% during the fourth quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC now owns 478,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,583,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 441,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,769,000 after purchasing an additional 77,289 shares during the last quarter. 30.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BFST. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. TheStreet lowered shares of Business First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

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Business First Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking products and services through its subsidiary. It also offers commercial and personal banking, treasury management, and wealth solutions services. The company was founded on July 20, 2006 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, LA.