Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Sells $279,900.00 in Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director George Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.99, for a total transaction of $279,900.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 307,775 shares in the company, valued at $8,614,622.25. This trade represents a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of BFST traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.13. 149,217 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 177,582. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $22.51 and a one year high of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.51 and a 200 day moving average of $27.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $919.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 0.79.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.04. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The business had revenue of $89.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.99 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 21.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BFST shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the third quarter worth $1,080,000. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 17.5% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 648,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,301,000 after purchasing an additional 96,720 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 12.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 730,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,252,000 after purchasing an additional 81,594 shares in the last quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 52.7% during the third quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 65,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 22,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ranger Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.6% during the third quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 345,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,166,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

About Business First Bancshares

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.