KG&L Capital Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

KG&L Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 1,380.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 370,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,051,000 after acquiring an additional 345,000 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Business First Bancshares by 19.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,115,000 after purchasing an additional 68,506 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 669,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,568,000 after buying an additional 50,955 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $802,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 2,249.7% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 22,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 21,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Hovde Group upped their target price on Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 1.1 %

BFST stock opened at $26.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $663.26 million, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.97. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.97 and a 52 week high of $27.72. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.01.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $113.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.24 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 14.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total transaction of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $471,264.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total transaction of $105,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 203,077 shares in the company, valued at $5,407,940.51. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $471,264.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

Business First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for b1BANK that provides various banking products and services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products and services, including checking, demand, money market, time, and savings accounts; and certificates of deposits, remote deposit capture, and direct deposit services.