Insider Selling: Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) EVP Sells $59,325.00 in Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) EVP Donald Chad Carter sold 1,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.64, for a total transaction of $59,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,642 shares in the company, valued at $399,992.88. The trade was a 12.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of BFST stock opened at $31.66 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.56 and a 12 month high of $32.39.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $91.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 17.07%. Sell-side analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $83,985,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $13,853,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 823,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,523,000 after acquiring an additional 175,284 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1,532.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,883,000 after acquiring an additional 149,712 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 467.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 107,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 88,693 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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