Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Purchases $41,325.00 in Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Rick Day acquired 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $41,325.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 267,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,366,456.75. The trade was a 0.56% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BFST opened at $27.62 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $817.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $28.84.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 17.01%.The firm had revenue of $69.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.41 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, February 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 21.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on BFST shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BFST. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 160.2% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,520 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.