Mark Folse Sells 5,146 Shares of Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Mark Folse sold 5,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total transaction of $153,093.50. Following the sale, the director owned 58,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,729,665. This trade represents a 8.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST opened at $29.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $858.69 million, a PE ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $27.47 and its 200 day moving average is $25.49. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.07 and a 52 week high of $30.32.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $69.44 million during 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, February 28th. Investors of record on Sunday, February 15th will be paid 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 2.1%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 14,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 2.6% during the second quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 17,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 22.8% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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