George Cummings III Sells 4,200 Shares of Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director George Cummings III sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.27, for a total value of $131,334.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 193,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,058,406.15. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Business First Bancshares Stock Down 0.1%

BFST stock opened at $31.13 on Thursday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.56 and a fifty-two week high of $32.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.94.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $91.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 11.03%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 21.28%.

Institutional Investors 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 stake in Business First Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $1,608,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,636,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,743,000. Womack Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,348,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the first quarter worth approximately $579,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.