Insider Selling: Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Sells 11,595 Shares of Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director George Cummings III sold 11,595 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.92, for a total value of $323,732.40. Following the sale, the director owned 296,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,269,345.60. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST traded up $0.11 on Thursday, hitting $28.24. 206,362 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 177,883. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.51 and a 12 month high of $30.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $922.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $89.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.99 million. Analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 21.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $1,080,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 17.5% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 648,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,301,000 after acquiring an additional 96,720 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 12.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 730,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,252,000 after acquiring an additional 81,594 shares in the last quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 52.7% during the third quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 65,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 22,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 3.2% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 14,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BFST shares. Stephens set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Business First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.