Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Price Target Raised to $39.00

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) had its price objective lifted by DA Davidson from $35.00 to $39.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on BFST. Stephens upped 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 note on Friday, July 24th. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.75.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Business First Bancshares stock opened at $31.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.32. Business First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $24.06 and a 52 week high of $32.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.78. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $93.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.25 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 17.08%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Investors of record on Sunday, November 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.43%.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, EVP Donald Chad Carter sold 1,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was 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 directly owned 12,642 shares in the company, valued at $399,992.88. This represents a 12.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director George W. Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.78, for a total value of $317,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 201,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,500.40. This trade represents a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,075 shares of company stock worth $853,739. 5.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $224,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 454.4% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 6,284 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

Business First Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Through its principal banking subsidiary, b1BANK, the company provides financial services to businesses, professionals and individual customers.

b1BANK offers commercial and consumer deposit accounts, commercial and real estate lending, residential mortgage loans, treasury management and other traditional banking services. The bank also provides wealth management and related financial services designed to support business owners, institutions and retail customers.

Business First Bancshares was established in 2006 and has expanded its presence across Louisiana and into Texas.