Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 524,620 shares, an increase of 48.3% from the March 15th total of 353,682 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 227,588 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day bought 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $41,325.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 267,385 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark P. Folse sold 5,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total value of $153,093.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 58,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,729,665. This trade represents a 8.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 13,778 shares of company stock worth $399,361 in the last ninety days. 5.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,080,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 648,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,301,000 after buying an additional 96,720 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 730,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,252,000 after buying an additional 81,594 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $610,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 199.8% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 43,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 28,735 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Business First Bancshares stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $28.34. 33,172 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 177,673. The stock has a market capitalization of $926.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Business First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $22.24 and a 1 year high of $30.32.

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

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, February 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 21.51%.

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.