Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) COO Keith Mansfield sold 4,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total value of $134,736.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,474,619.12. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.
Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.4%
Shares of BFST stock opened at $31.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.56 and a 1 year high of $32.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.78.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $91.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 17.07%. As a group, research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.
Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.28%.
Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares
Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BFST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,591,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,566,000 after buying an additional 17,690 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 7.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,165,720 shares of the company's stock worth $31,520,000 after acquiring an additional 81,833 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 0.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 989,686 shares of the company's stock worth $26,761,000 after acquiring an additional 3,540 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 823,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,523,000 after acquiring an additional 175,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 731,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,119,000 after acquiring an additional 14,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company's stock.
Key Stories Impacting Business First Bancshares
Here are the key news stories impacting Business First Bancshares this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish following the quarterly results: Stephens and Hovde Group raised their price targets to $36, while DA Davidson lifted its target to $35. The consensus rating is “Buy,” with an average target of $34.50, implying additional upside from recent levels.
- Positive Sentiment: Business First Bancshares reported quarterly EPS of $0.71, slightly ahead of the $0.70 consensus estimate. The bank also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, or $0.60 annualized, representing a yield of approximately 1.9% and a payout ratio of 21.28%.
- Positive Sentiment: Director Rick Day purchased 1,500 shares for approximately $47,415, modestly increasing his ownership and providing a small vote of confidence from an insider. Insider Buying: Business First Bancshares Director Acquires Shares
- Neutral Sentiment: BFST trades above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages and near its 52-week high, indicating strong recent momentum but also leaving the stock more sensitive to profit-taking. Institutional investors own approximately 47.35% of the shares.
- Negative Sentiment: Several insiders sold shares in recent transactions. Director George W. Cummings III sold a combined 20,000 shares for roughly $639,400, COO Keith Mansfield sold 4,200 shares for $134,736, and Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 12,000 shares for approximately $379,800. Although each executive retains a substantial stake, the cluster of sales may be interpreted as a near-term caution signal. Business First Bancshares Insider Sale SEC Filing
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $34.50.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on BFST
Business First Bancshares Company Profile
(
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.
Featured Stories
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
