Insider Selling: Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Sells $279,900.00 in Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director George Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.99, for a total transaction of $279,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 307,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,614,622.25. This trade represents a 3.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BFST opened at $28.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $930.73 million, a P/E ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.29. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.51 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $89.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.99 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 11.10%. As a group, research analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 21.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens set a $33.00 price target on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Monday, April 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 115.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 38,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 20,620 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 1,532.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,883,000 after buying an additional 149,712 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 8.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 85,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,080,000 after buying an additional 6,596 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at $1,150,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

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.