Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) EVP Donald Chad Carter Sells 1,875 Shares of Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) EVP Donald Chad Carter sold 1,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.64, for a total value of $59,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $399,992.88. This represents a 12.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:BFST opened at $31.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.61. 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 results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $91.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 11.03%. Equities research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 389.7% in the 2nd 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. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $123,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BFST shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Business First Bancshares has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.