Q3 Earnings Estimate for BFST Issued By DA Davidson

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) – Equities researchers at DA Davidson issued their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Business First Bancshares in a note issued to investors on Monday, October 20th. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner anticipates that the company will earn $0.69 per share for the quarter. DA Davidson has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Business First Bancshares’ current full-year earnings is $2.72 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Business First Bancshares’ FY2025 earnings at $2.75 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.20 EPS.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $103.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.94 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 15.47%.

BFST has been the subject of several other reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $30.75.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $23.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $689.98 million, a PE ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 0.86. Business First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $20.07 and a 52 week high of $30.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director John P. Ducrest bought 2,225 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.62 per share, with a total value of $52,554.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $323,971.92. The trade was a 19.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 160.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 389.7% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 22.8% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 15.2% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

Business First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for b1BANK that provides various banking products and services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products and services, including checking, demand, money market, time, and savings accounts; and certificates of deposits, remote deposit capture, and direct deposit services.