Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Sells $313,300.00 in Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director George Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.33, for a total transaction of $313,300.00. Following the sale, the director owned 183,745 shares in the company, valued at $5,756,730.85. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST opened at $31.23 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.03 and a 200-day moving average of $28.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.78. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.56 and a twelve month high of $32.53. 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 (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $91.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 11.03%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 21.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BFST. Hovde Group raised their target price on Business First Bancshares from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson boosted their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $34.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 15,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Business First Bancshares by 389.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $97,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.