Ranger Investment Management L.P. Invests $8.74 Million in Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 284,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,743,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. owned approximately 0.87% of Business First Bancshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,985,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 7.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,165,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,520,000 after buying an additional 81,833 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 0.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 989,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,761,000 after buying an additional 3,540 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 823,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,523,000 after acquiring an additional 175,284 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of BFST stock opened at $31.15 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.91. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.56 and a 1 year high of $32.53. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.78.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.31 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 21.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Business First Bancshares news, EVP Donald Chad Carter sold 1,875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.64, for a total value of $59,325.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,992.88. This represents a 12.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Keith Mansfield sold 4,200 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total transaction of $134,736.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,139 shares in the company, valued at $2,474,619.12. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 75,670 shares of company stock worth $2,314,873 over the last 90 days. 5.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BFST has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their target price on Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $34.50.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

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.