Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) Director George Cummings III sold 4,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.27, for a total value of $131,334.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 193,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,058,406.15. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
Business First Bancshares Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ BFST opened at $31.16 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.93. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.56 and a 1-year high of $32.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.78.
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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 17.07%.The firm had revenue of $91.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.31 million. Analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.
Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend
The company 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 (DPR) is 21.28%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have commented on BFST shares. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report 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. Hovde Group upped their price target 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. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $34.50.
Read Our Latest Research Report on BFST
Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 115.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 38,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 20,620 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 149,712 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 8.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 85,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,080,000 after acquiring an additional 6,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,150,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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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