Sei Investments Co. Buys 28,879 Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 127.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,452 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 28,879 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.16% of Business First Bancshares worth $1,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 115,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 10,301 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 7.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,165,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,520,000 after purchasing an additional 81,833 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 255.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 441,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,948,000 after purchasing an additional 317,650 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $801,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,636,000. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on BFST shares. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of 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 increased their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $34.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director George W. Cummings III sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $428,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 281,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,024,877.20. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rick D. Day bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $31.61 per share, with a total value of $47,415.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 269,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,531,570.61. This represents a 0.56% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 75,670 shares of company stock valued at $2,276,973 over the last quarter. 5.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of BFST stock opened at $31.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $30.33 and a 200 day moving average of $28.68. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.56 and a 52 week high of $32.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $91.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.31 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.28%.

Business First Bancshares Profile

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.