Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Sells $317,500.00 in Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 10,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total transaction of $317,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 174,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,526,817.75. This trade represents a 5.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Joseph Vernon Johnson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, July 29th, Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 2,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $62,300.00.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ BFST traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $31.94. 307,402 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 204,747. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.56 and a 1-year high of $32.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $91.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 11.31%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 21.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens increased their target price on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Monday, July 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Business First Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BFST. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,608,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 989,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,761,000 after purchasing an additional 3,540 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 121,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,283,000 after purchasing an additional 3,997 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 63.3% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 18,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 6,988 shares during the period. Finally, FreeGulliver LLC acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $812,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Business First Bancshares

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.