Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Acquires $41,325.00 in Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Rick Day bought 1,500 shares of the firm’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 purchase, the director directly owned 267,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,366,456.75. This represents a 0.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of BFST traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.26. The stock had a trading volume of 99,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 120,852. The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.70 and its 200 day moving average is $25.21. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $28.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $807.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.86.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $69.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.41 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.01% and a return on equity of 11.41%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 160.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. DA Davidson increased their target price on Business First Bancshares from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Stephens raised their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

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.