Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Shares Sold by Mendon Capital Advisors Corp

Mendon Capital Advisors Corp trimmed its position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 267,830 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,082 shares during the quarter. Business First Bancshares accounts for approximately 3.4% of Mendon Capital Advisors Corp's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp owned about 0.91% of Business First Bancshares worth $6,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 7.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 407,801 shares of the company's stock worth $10,468,000 after buying an additional 27,023 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 158.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,792 shares of the company's stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 28,663 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 5.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 523,626 shares of the company's stock worth $13,441,000 after purchasing an additional 24,992 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 121,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,119,000 after buying an additional 29,989 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 171,115 shares of the company's stock worth $4,365,000 after buying an additional 34,602 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BFST shares. Hovde Group raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens cut their target price on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.46 per share, for a total transaction of $38,190.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 264,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,728,696.10. This represents a 0.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BFST traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 189,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 88,347. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.97 and a 52 week high of $30.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $672.17 million, a PE ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.75.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $79.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.54 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 14.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Business First Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 23.05%.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

Business First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for b1BANK that provides various banking products and services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products and services, including checking, demand, money market, time, and savings accounts; and certificates of deposits, remote deposit capture, and direct deposit services.