Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $69.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.41 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 15.94%.

Here are the key takeaways from Business First Bancshares’ conference call:

• The company reported strengthened profitability with a full‑year core ROAA of 1.06%, Q4 core ROAA of 1.16%, full‑year EPS up 14% and Q4 EPS up 20% YoY, and a Q4 efficiency ratio below 60%.
• Capital and shareholder actions improved — tangible common equity rose 90 bps, consolidated CET1 rose 50 bps, tangible book value increased 17.3%, management resumed buybacks (~150k shares at ~$24.70) and increased the dividend for the seventh consecutive year.
• Balance‑sheet momentum — loans held for investment rose $168.4M (linked quarter) driven by ~$500M of new/renewed production, deposits increased $191.7M (public funds and money‑market inflows), management expects mid‑single‑digit loan growth in 2026, and the Progressive Bank acquisition (closed Jan 1) will lower Texas concentration to ~36% and add ~$1M quarterly non‑interest income.
• Credit metrics deteriorated due to one large Houston CRE medical relationship moved to non‑accrual (~$25.8M), lifting the NPL ratio to 1.24% and NPAs to 1.09%; management aims to keep reserves at/above 1% (ALLL + credit marks ~1.06% currently) and expects annualized net losses in the low‑ to mid‑teens (bps) next year.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ BFST opened at $28.17 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.21. Business First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $20.07 and a 52 week high of $28.84. The stock has a market cap of $834.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, February 28th. Investors of record on Sunday, February 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day bought 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.21 per share, with a total value of $38,736.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 265,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,437,075.85. The trade was a 0.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total transaction of $36,974.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 67,835 shares in the company, valued at $1,791,522.35. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 5.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BFST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,591,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,566,000 after acquiring an additional 17,690 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Business First Bancshares by 3.7% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,024,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,183,000 after purchasing an additional 36,973 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp boosted its position in Business First Bancshares by 5.7% during the second quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 280,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,902,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 3.6% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 230,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,445,000 after purchasing an additional 7,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.3% in the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 187,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,421,000 after purchasing an additional 7,667 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Key Business First Bancshares News

Here are the key news stories impacting Business First Bancshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and core earnings growth: BFST reported $0.79 EPS (beat the $0.72 consensus) and non‑GAAP core net income rose to $0.79/sh, up $0.07 sequentially. The beat and improving core profitability are the main positive drivers for the stock today. Business First (BFST) Beats Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared: Management announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15/share (annualized yield ~2.1%), payable Feb. 28 to holders of record Feb. 15 (ex-div Feb. 13). The return of capital supports income-oriented investors and underpins sentiment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Company disclosure and detail resources: The firm released its Q4 and FY2025 results and provided a slide deck and call recording for investors to review underlying drivers. These materials let analysts refine estimates and are neutral until they change guidance or reveal surprises. Press Release / Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript available: The full Q4 2025 earnings call transcript is posted — useful for forward-looking commentary on loan growth, NIM, credit trends and capital deployment but not immediately market-moving absent new guidance. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed expectations: Reported revenue of $69.44M trailed analyst estimates (~$81.4M), which could raise questions about fee/loan growth or one-time items and tempers the EPS beat. Earnings and Metrics Summary
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP net income slight decline sequentially: On a GAAP basis, net income available to common shareholders was $21.0M ($0.71/sh), slightly down vs. the linked quarter — a reminder that non‑GAAP adjustments helped lift the headline EPS. GlobeNewswire: Financial Results

Business First Bancshares announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BFST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.50.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

Business First Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Business First Bank, a regional community bank headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company provides a full suite of commercial and retail banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals and individual consumers. Business First Bancshares operates under a community-focused model, emphasizing personalized service, local decision-making and relationship banking.

The company’s primary business activities include commercial lending, treasury and cash management, and deposit services.