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

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director George Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.99, for a total transaction of $279,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 307,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,614,622.25. This represents a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ BFST traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.13. 149,217 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 177,582. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.24. The company has a market capitalization of $919.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 0.79. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.51 and a 12 month high of $30.32. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $89.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.99 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 11.10%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 255.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 441,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,948,000 after acquiring an additional 317,650 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Business First Bancshares by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 823,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,523,000 after buying an additional 175,284 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Business First Bancshares by 1,532.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,883,000 after buying an additional 149,712 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Business First Bancshares by 467.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 107,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,542,000 after buying an additional 88,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Business First Bancshares by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,165,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,520,000 after buying an additional 81,833 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BFST. Stephens set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report 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 report 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 report on Wednesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.