Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $28.30 and last traded at $28.0590, with a volume of 66603 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on BFST shares. DA Davidson began coverage on Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Business First Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.75.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $828.64 million, a P/E ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.70.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.03. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.94% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The company had revenue of $80.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.50 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Business First Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 23.17%.

Business First Bancshares declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.21 per share, with a total value of $38,736.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 265,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,437,075.85. This trade represents a 0.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total transaction of $36,974.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 67,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,791,522.35. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BFST. Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 19.5% during the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 25,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 4,111 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 34,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $123,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $515,000. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.