Business First Bancshares, Inc. Expected to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $0.47 Per Share (NASDAQ:BFST)

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) – Equities researchers at DA Davidson issued their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report issued on Monday, April 29th. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas expects that the company will post earnings of $0.47 per share for the quarter. DA Davidson currently has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Business First Bancshares’ current full-year earnings is $2.33 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Business First Bancshares’ FY2025 earnings at $2.70 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BFST. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.33.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BFST opened at $20.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $528.64 million, a PE ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Business First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $13.05 and a 1-year high of $25.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.71.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 22.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.37, for a total value of $156,590.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,725.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.30 per share, with a total value of $36,540.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 262,785 shares in the company, valued at $5,334,535.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.37, for a total transaction of $156,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,306 shares in the company, valued at $543,725.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 75.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 5,004 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,968,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 333,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,231,000 after acquiring an additional 17,095 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 494,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,183,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

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.