Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The company had revenue of $91.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.31 million.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ BFST traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $30.47. 246,867 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 201,779. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.23 and its 200-day moving average is $28.18. Business First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $22.56 and a 52-week high of $31.57. The company has a market capitalization of $995.76 million, a PE ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In other news, Director George W. Cummings III sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $428,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 281,180 shares in the company, valued at $8,024,877.20. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,595 shares of company stock worth $1,031,732. Insiders own 5.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 15,600.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 389.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $123,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 43.3% in the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Stephens set a $33.00 price target on Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.