Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $28.80 and last traded at $28.78, with a volume of 71563 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $873.20 million, a PE ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $25.26 and its 200-day moving average is $23.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share 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 net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 11.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In other news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $65,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 183,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,819,890.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $471,264.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total value of $65,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 183,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,819,890.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,980 shares of company stock worth $366,992 over the last quarter. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $106,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $116,000. KG&L Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $227,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Business First Bancshares by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 5,004 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Business First Bancshares by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 12,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 497 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 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.