Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $93.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.25 million.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ BFST opened at $31.80 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.08 and a 200-day moving average of $29.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.78. Business First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $23.55 and a 52-week high of $32.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In related news, EVP Donald Chad Carter sold 1,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.64, for a total value of $59,325.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $399,992.88. This represents a 12.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Keith Mansfield sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total transaction of $134,736.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,474,619.12. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 63,275 shares of company stock worth $2,007,675 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BFST. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Stephens lifted their price target on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price target on Business First Bancshares from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.75.

About Business First Bancshares

Business First Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Through its principal banking subsidiary, b1BANK, the company provides financial services to businesses, professionals and individual customers.

b1BANK offers commercial and consumer deposit accounts, commercial and real estate lending, residential mortgage loans, treasury management and other traditional banking services. The bank also provides wealth management and related financial services designed to support business owners, institutions and retail customers.

Business First Bancshares was established in 2006 and has expanded its presence across Louisiana and into Texas.