Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director George Cummings III Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director George Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.33, for a total transaction of $313,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 183,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,756,730.85. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.4%

BFST opened at $31.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.56 and a 1-year high of $32.53.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $91.31 million. Analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BFST. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, July 6th. DA Davidson boosted 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. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 15,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 389.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 2,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $97,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Business First Bancshares Company 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.