Business First Bancshares, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.14 (NASDAQ:BFST)

Key Points

• Business First Bancshares, Inc. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, with a total annualized dividend of $0.56, representing a yield of 2.28%.
• The company reported earnings of $0.66 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, with revenue of $103.01 million compared to expectations of $78.94 million.
• Institutional investors own 47.35% of Business First Bancshares, with significant changes in holdings from firms like Millennium Management, which increased its stake by 1,532.5% in the first quarter.

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 29th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.14 per share on Sunday, August 31st. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th.

Business First Bancshares has a dividend payout ratio of 19.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Business First Bancshares to earn $2.96 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.9%.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Business First Bancshares stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.61. 83,397 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 103,560. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Business First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $20.07 and a fifty-two week high of $30.30. The company has a market capitalization of $730.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's fifty day moving average is $24.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.77.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $103.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.94 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 11.49%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,086 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total transaction of $25,759.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 69,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,254.20. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC grew 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 holdings 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 purchasing an additional 6,596 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at $1,150,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 20,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BFST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

About Business First Bancshares

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.

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