Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 159,900 shares, a drop of 37.5% from the August 15th total of 255,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 73,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group lifted their target price on Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Insider Activity

In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $37,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $471,264.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $471,264.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total transaction of $141,468.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 213,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,415,000.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,906 shares of company stock worth $377,392. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 1,380.0% in the second quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 370,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,051,000 after acquiring an additional 345,000 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 68,506 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 8.2% during the second 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 purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $802,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 2,249.7% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 22,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 21,395 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ BFST traded up $0.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 77,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 59,001. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $23.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.99. Business First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $17.88 and a twelve month high of $26.68. 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 firm has a market cap of $653.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.97.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.13. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 15.90%. The firm had revenue of $112.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.05%.

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.