Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) COO Sells $134,736.00 in Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) COO Keith Mansfield sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total value of $134,736.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,139 shares in the company, valued at $2,474,619.12. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $31.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 232,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 205,075. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.41. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.56 and a 52-week high of $32.39.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.31% 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 expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on BFST shares. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the first quarter worth $1,608,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,540 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Business First Bancshares by 3.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 121,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,283,000 after acquiring an additional 3,997 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 63.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 18,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 6,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FreeGulliver LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $812,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.