Q3 Earnings Estimate for BFST Issued By DA Davidson

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) – Investment analysts at DA Davidson issued their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Business First Bancshares in a report released on Monday, October 20th. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $0.69 for the quarter. DA Davidson currently 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 15.47%.The firm had revenue of $103.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.94 million.

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

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Business First Bancshares stock opened at $23.31 on Wednesday. Business First Bancshares has a one year low of $20.07 and a one year high of $30.30. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $24.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $689.98 million, a P/E ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 0.86.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director John P. Ducrest acquired 2,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.62 per share, with a total value of $52,554.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 13,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,971.92. This represents a 19.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,520 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at about $72,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

About Business First Bancshares

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.