Saundra Strong Sells 1,000 Shares of Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) EVP Saundra Strong sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.98, for a total value of $31,980.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $155,998.44. This trade represents a 17.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Business First Bancshares Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $31.66 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.61. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.56 and a 52-week high of $32.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 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 return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 17.07%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the second quarter worth $83,985,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $13,853,000. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 823,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,523,000 after purchasing an additional 175,284 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 1,532.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,883,000 after purchasing an additional 149,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 467.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 107,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 88,693 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Friday, July 24th. Hovde Group raised 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. DA Davidson raised 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.