Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Upgraded to Outperform at Hovde Group

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Hovde Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $33.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $31.50. Hovde Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 29.72% from the company’s current price.

Separately, Raymond James raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BFST opened at $25.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Business First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $18.97 and a 12 month high of $30.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.71 and a 200-day moving average of $25.40. The company has a market capitalization of $751.50 million, a P/E ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.00.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 14.92%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Business First Bancshares will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.36, for a total value of $158,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 185,557 shares in the company, valued at $4,891,282.52. The trade was a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,480 shares of company stock valued at $329,972. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 8.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 669,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,568,000 after acquiring an additional 50,955 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 523,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,441,000 after purchasing an additional 24,992 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 407,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,468,000 after purchasing an additional 27,023 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 384,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,862,000 after purchasing an additional 33,870 shares during the period. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp increased its stake in Business First Bancshares by 1,380.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 370,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,051,000 after purchasing an additional 345,000 shares in 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.