Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Mark Folse Sells 5,146 Shares of Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Mark Folse sold 5,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total value of $153,093.50. Following the sale, the director owned 58,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,729,665. The trade was a 8.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:BFST opened at $29.22 on Thursday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.46. The company has a market capitalization of $865.35 million, a PE ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.86.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $69.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.41 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.01% and a return on equity of 11.41%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, February 28th. Investors of record on Sunday, February 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.51%.

Business First Bancshares announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 160.2% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

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.