Key Points
- Director Mark Folse sold 4,854 shares on Feb. 10 at an average price of $29.51 for $143,241.54, reducing his stake by 8.35% to 53,286 shares (worth about $1.57M).
- Business First declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 (annualized $0.60, ~2.1% yield; ex-dividend Feb. 13) and its board authorized a $30.0 million share repurchase program covering roughly 4.2% of outstanding shares.
- The company beat EPS estimates for the quarter ($0.79 vs. $0.72) but missed on revenue, and analysts have largely raised targets — consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with a $33.00 price target.
Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) Director Mark Folse sold 4,854 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.51, for a total value of $143,241.54. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,572,469.86. This trade represents a 8.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.
Business First Bancshares Price Performance
NASDAQ BFST opened at $29.22 on Thursday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.07 and a 12 month high of $30.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $865.35 million, a PE ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.86. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $27.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 17.01%.The business had revenue of $69.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.41 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Business First Bancshares declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, February 28th. Investors of record on Sunday, February 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.51%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
BFST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.00.
View Our Latest Stock Report on BFST
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 160.2% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.
About Business First Bancshares
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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