Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Trading Up 0.1% – Time to Buy?

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)’s share price rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $27.69 and last traded at $27.57. Approximately 142,236 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 192,683 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BFST has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens lifted their price target on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Business First Bancshares from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Business First Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $901.81 million, a P/E ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 0.82.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 17.01%.The business had revenue of $69.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.41 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, February 28th. Investors of record on Sunday, February 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.51%.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, EVP Donald Chad Carter sold 3,778 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.27, for a total value of $103,026.06. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,044.01. The trade was a 21.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $41,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 267,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,366,456.75. This trade represents a 0.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,778 shares of company stock valued at $399,361. Corporate insiders own 5.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 823,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,523,000 after buying an additional 175,284 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 1,532.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,883,000 after buying an additional 149,712 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 467.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 107,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,542,000 after buying an additional 88,693 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 730,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,252,000 after buying an additional 81,594 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 176,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,617,000 after buying an additional 69,723 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.