Kestra Advisory Services LLC Acquires New Holdings in Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 47,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,282,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at $579,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 823,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,523,000 after buying an additional 175,284 shares during the last quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 92.3% during the first quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 24,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 11,947 shares during the last quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 82.7% during the first quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC now owns 16,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 7,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BFST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens set a $33.00 price target on Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Monday, July 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.33.

Business First Bancshares Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of BFST stock opened at $30.49 on Thursday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.56 and a 12 month high of $31.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $996.41 million, a PE ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.23 and a 200-day moving average of $28.18.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $90.99 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director George W. Cummings III sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $428,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 281,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,024,877.20. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,595 shares of company stock valued at $1,031,732. 5.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.