Insider Selling: Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Sells $320,800.00 in Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director George Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total value of $320,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 231,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,416,254.40. The trade was a 4.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

BFST stock opened at $31.82 on Monday. 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 has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day moving average is $29.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.45. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.56 and a 1 year high of $32.39.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 17.07%.The business had revenue of $91.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.31 million. Analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 21.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,591,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,566,000 after purchasing an additional 17,690 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 989,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,761,000 after buying an additional 3,540 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in shares of 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 731,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,119,000 after buying an additional 14,576 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Business First Bancshares

Here are the key news stories impacting Business First Bancshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish following the quarterly results: Stephens and Hovde Group raised their price targets to $36, while DA Davidson lifted its target to $35. The consensus rating is “Buy,” with an average target of $34.50, implying additional upside from recent levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Business First Bancshares reported quarterly EPS of $0.71, slightly ahead of the $0.70 consensus estimate. The bank also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, or $0.60 annualized, representing a yield of approximately 1.9% and a payout ratio of 21.28%.
• Positive Sentiment: Director Rick Day purchased 1,500 shares for approximately $47,415, modestly increasing his ownership and providing a small vote of confidence from an insider. Insider Buying: Business First Bancshares Director Acquires Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: BFST trades above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages and near its 52-week high, indicating strong recent momentum but also leaving the stock more sensitive to profit-taking. Institutional investors own approximately 47.35% of the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders sold shares in recent transactions. Director George W. Cummings III sold a combined 20,000 shares for roughly $639,400, COO Keith Mansfield sold 4,200 shares for $134,736, and Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 12,000 shares for approximately $379,800. Although each executive retains a substantial stake, the cluster of sales may be interpreted as a near-term caution signal. Business First Bancshares Insider Sale SEC Filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens raised 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Hovde Group increased their target price on Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $34.50.

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.