Insider Selling: Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Sells $62,300.00 in Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $62,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 172,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,073.95. This trade represents a 1.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Joseph Vernon Johnson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, July 28th, Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 10,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total transaction of $317,500.00.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $31.94. 307,402 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 204,747. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.78. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $22.56 and a one year high of $32.39.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 17.07%.The company had revenue of $91.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.31 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.28%.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Business First Bancshares by 15,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 389.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,124 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $123,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Hovde Group raised their price target on Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.50.

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.