Ranger Investment Management L.P. Invests $8.74 Million in Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Ranger Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 284,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,743,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BFST. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares during the period. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $123,000. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Donald Chad Carter sold 1,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.64, for a total transaction of $59,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $399,992.88. This trade represents a 12.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Saundra Strong sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.98, for a total value of $31,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,998.44. This trade represents a 17.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,670 shares of company stock worth $2,314,873. 5.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

BFST stock opened at $31.15 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.78. 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 12 month low of $22.56 and a 12 month high of $32.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $30.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.91.

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

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson upped 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 note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Hovde Group increased 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 report on Friday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $34.50.

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.