Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Expected to Post FY2024 Earnings of $1.85 Per Share

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) – Stock analysts at DA Davidson lowered their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Business First Bancshares in a report issued on Monday, April 29th. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $1.85 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $2.30. DA Davidson has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Business First Bancshares’ current full-year earnings is $2.33 per share.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James downgraded Business First Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.33.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:BFST opened at $20.70 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $528.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.71. Business First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $13.05 and a 12-month high of $25.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,968,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 2,365.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 246,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,760,000 after purchasing an additional 236,500 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 295,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,552,000 after buying an additional 59,297 shares in the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $743,000. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $713,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

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

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

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.