Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) To Go Ex-Dividend on November 15th

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 24th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of 0.14 per share on Saturday, November 30th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th.

Business First Bancshares has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.7% annually over the last three years. Business First Bancshares has a payout ratio of 21.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Business First Bancshares to earn $2.60 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.5%.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ BFST traded up $0.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 75,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,248. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.73. Business First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $18.43 and a 12 month high of $26.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $662.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.11. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 12.19%. The firm had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In other news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.71, for a total transaction of $39,387.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,497.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.71, for a total value of $39,387.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,595 shares in the company, valued at $529,497.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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. Insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

About Business First Bancshares

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.