Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Price Target Raised to $37.00 at Hovde Group

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Hovde Group from $36.00 to $37.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Hovde Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 18.86% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stephens upped their target price on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Business First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $34.75.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ BFST opened at $31.13 on Thursday. Business First Bancshares has a one year low of $22.56 and a one year high of $32.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.94.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $91.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.31 million. Equities analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Keith Mansfield sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total transaction of $134,736.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,474,619.12. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total value of $317,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 174,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,526,817.75. This represents a 5.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 78,275 shares of company stock valued at $2,435,775 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,985,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,591,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,566,000 after acquiring an additional 17,690 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,165,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,520,000 after purchasing an additional 81,833 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 4,036.9% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,140,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,123,000 after buying an additional 1,113,214 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at $33,491,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

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.