Royce & Associates LP Increases Stock Holdings in Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 27.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 823,364 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 175,284 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 2.78% of Business First Bancshares worth $21,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 47,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after buying an additional 2,110 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Polaris Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC now owns 82,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,154,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 12,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ BFST opened at $28.20 on Wednesday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $22.51 and a one year high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $921.58 million, a P/E ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 0.79.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.04. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The business had revenue of $89.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.99 million. As a group, analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BFST. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens set a $33.00 target price on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.33.

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.