Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $30.30 and last traded at $30.29, with a volume of 14305 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $880.59 million, a P/E ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $113.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In related news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total transaction of $37,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $471,264.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total value of $105,987.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 203,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,407,940.51. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $471,264.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,980 shares of company stock valued at $366,992. Insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,115,000 after buying an additional 68,506 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $476,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 3.3% in the second quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 21,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 5.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ELCO Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 3.0% during the second quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 20,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.