Key Points
- Insider sale: EVP Saundra Strong sold 1,000 BFST shares for approximately $31,980, reducing her direct ownership by 17.01% to 4,878 shares.
- Financial performance: Business First Bancshares reported quarterly EPS of $0.71, exceeding estimates by $0.01, while revenue reached $91.81 million. The stock opened at $31.71, near its 12-month high of $32.39.
- Investor outlook: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, representing a 1.9% yield, while analysts maintained a broadly positive view with an average “Buy” rating and a $34.50 price target.
Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) EVP Saundra Strong sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.98, for a total value of $31,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,998.44. This trade represents a 17.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.
Business First Bancshares Stock Performance
NASDAQ:BFST opened at $31.71 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.12 and a 200-day moving average of $28.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.56 and a twelve month high of $32.39.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $91.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 11.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.
Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 21.28%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 115.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 38,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 20,620 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.5% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1,532.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,883,000 after purchasing an additional 149,712 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 8.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 85,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 6,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at about $1,150,000. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens boosted their target price on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report 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. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their target price on Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $34.50.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis 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.
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