Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.15

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Sunday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share on Monday, November 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th.

Business First Bancshares has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Business First Bancshares has a payout ratio of 20.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Business First Bancshares to earn $3.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.4%.

Business First Bancshares Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $32.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.53. Business First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $24.19 and a 12-month high of $33.69.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.18% and a net margin of 17.08%. The company had revenue of $93.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.25 million. Equities analysts expect that Business First Bancshares will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

Business First Bancshares, Inc. is the bank holding company for b1BANK, a regional bank serving businesses, individuals and institutions. The bank offers commercial and personal banking, treasury management, private banking and digital banking services. Founded in Louisiana in 2006 and headquartered in Baton Rouge, Business First has expanded its presence across Louisiana and into Texas. Its services include lending and deposit products for businesses, as well as checking, savings and other banking solutions for consumers.