Key Points
- Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 10,000 BFST shares for $317,500 at an average price of $31.75, reducing his direct holdings by 5.43% to 174,073 shares. He also sold an additional 2,000 shares the following day for $62,300.
- Business First Bancshares reported quarterly EPS of $0.71, slightly exceeding the $0.70 consensus estimate, while revenue totaled $91.0 million. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equivalent to a 1.9% yield.
- Analysts remain positive, with five Buy ratings and an average price target of $34.50; several firms recently raised their targets to $35 or $36.
Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $62,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 172,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,073.95. This represents a 1.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
Joseph Vernon Johnson also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Tuesday, July 28th, Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 10,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total value of $317,500.00.
Business First Bancshares Stock Down 0.2%
Shares of BFST opened at $31.94 on Friday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.56 and a 1 year high of $32.39. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.41. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.78.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $91.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 11.31%. On average, analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.28%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have weighed in on BFST. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Stephens raised their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.50.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Business First Bancshares
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BFST. Gator Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 65,967 shares of the company's stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,343 shares of the company's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 242,669 shares of the company's stock worth $6,343,000 after buying an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 15,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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