Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.15

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Sunday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share on Monday, November 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th.

Business First Bancshares has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Business First Bancshares has a payout ratio of 20.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Business First Bancshares to earn $3.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.4%.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ BFST opened at $32.73 on Wednesday. Business First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $24.19 and a 1-year high of $33.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.29 and a 200-day moving average of $29.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.73.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $93.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.25 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.18% and a net margin of 17.08%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director George W. Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.33, for a total value of $313,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 183,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,756,730.85. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 24,200 shares of company stock worth $762,434 over the last quarter. 5.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFST. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $97,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $217,000. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the third quarter worth $219,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the second quarter worth $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

Business First Bancshares, Inc. is the bank holding company for b1BANK, a regional bank serving businesses, individuals and institutions. The bank offers commercial and personal banking, treasury management, private banking and digital banking services. Founded in Louisiana in 2006 and headquartered in Baton Rouge, Business First has expanded its presence across Louisiana and into Texas. Its services include lending and deposit products for businesses, as well as checking, savings and other banking solutions for consumers.