Key Points
- Director George Cummings III sold 10,000 BFST shares at an average price of $31.78, generating $317,800 and reducing his stake by 4.74% to 201,180 shares.
- Business First Bancshares recently exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.71 EPS versus the $0.70 consensus and $91.81 million in revenue. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equal to a 1.9% yield.
- Analysts remain bullish, with five Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $34.50; institutional investors own 47.35% of the company.
Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) Director George Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.78, for a total transaction of $317,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 201,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,500.40. This represents a 4.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.
Business First Bancshares Trading Down 2.9%
Shares of NASDAQ:BFST opened at $31.05 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 0.78. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.56 and a 12-month high of $32.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $91.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.31 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.28%.
Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFST. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 15,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 389.7% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,669 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts recently commented on BFST shares. Stephens boosted their price target 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. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" 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 report 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 stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $34.50.
Read Our Latest 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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