NASDAQ:BFST Business First Bancshares (BFST) Stock Price, News & Analysis $31.80 -0.14 (-0.44%) Closing price 04:00 PM EasternExtended Trading$31.78 -0.02 (-0.05%) As of 07:30 PM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more. Add Compare Share Share Stock Analysis Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsDividendEarningsFinancialsInsider TradesNews and TrendsOptions ChainOwnershipSEC FilingsShort Interest About Business First Bancshares Stock (NASDAQ:BFST) View Price History Chart DataSkip Price History Chart 1 Day 5 Days 30 Days 90 Days 1 Year Advanced 1 Day 1 Day 5 Days 30 Days 90 Days 1 Year Advanced Show volume Show extended hours Get BFST alerts:Sign Up Key Stats Today's Range$31.65▼$32.0950-Day Range$30.09▼$32.1152-Week Range$23.55▼$32.53Volume173,724 shsAverage Volume190,975 shsMarket Capitalization$1.04 billionP/E Ratio10.83Dividend Yield1.89%Price Target$34.75Consensus RatingBuy Company Overview Business First Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Through its principal banking subsidiary, b1BANK, the company provides financial services to businesses, professionals and individual customers. b1BANK offers commercial and consumer deposit accounts, commercial and real estate lending, residential mortgage loans, treasury management and other traditional banking services. The bank also provides wealth management and related financial services designed to support business owners, institutions and retail customers. Business First Bancshares was established in 2006 and has expanded its presence across Louisiana and into Texas. The company’s banking operations serve communities and businesses through a network of branches and digital banking channels. Jude F. Melville serves as president and chief executive officer of Business First Bancshares and b1BANK.AI Generated. May Contain Errors. Read More Business First Bancshares Stock Analysis - MarketRank™See Top-Rated MarketRank™ Stocks62nd Percentile Overall ScoreBFST MarketRank™: 3.08792372881 of 5 starsBusiness First Bancshares scored higher than 62% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 448th out of 848 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation. Analyst's Opinion2.6 / 5Analyst RatingBuy Consensus RatingBusiness First Bancshares has received a consensus rating of Buy. The company's average rating score is 3.00, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 5 buy ratings, no hold ratings, and no sell ratings.Upside/DownsideThe consensus price target for Business First Bancshares is close to its current price, suggesting limited near-term upside or downside.Amount of Analyst CoverageBusiness First Bancshares has only been the subject of 2 research reports in the past 90 days.Read more about Business First Bancshares' stock forecast and price target. Earnings and Valuation2.5 / 5Proj. Earnings Growth9.33% Earnings GrowthEarnings for Business First Bancshares are expected to grow by 9.33% in the coming year, from $3.00 to $3.28 per share.Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the MarketThe P/E ratio of Business First Bancshares is 11.28, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 38.76.Price to Earnings Ratio vs. SectorThe P/E ratio of Business First Bancshares is 11.28, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 25.31.Price to Book Value per Share RatioBusiness First Bancshares has a P/B Ratio of 1.14. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.Read more about Business First Bancshares' valuation and earnings. Short Interest2.0 / 5Short Interest LevelBearish Percentage of Shares Shorted4.03% of the float of Business First Bancshares has been sold short.Short Interest Ratio / Days to CoverBusiness First Bancshares has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 5.69.Change versus previous monthShort interest in Business First Bancshares has recently increased by 11.17%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly. Dividend2.5 / 5Dividend StrengthModerate Dividend YieldBusiness First Bancshares pays a meaningful dividend of 1.91%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.Dividend GrowthBusiness First Bancshares has only been increasing its dividend for 2 years.Dividend CoverageThe dividend payout ratio of Business First Bancshares is 21.28%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.Dividend SustainabilityBased on earnings estimates, Business First Bancshares will have a dividend payout ratio of 18.29% next year. This indicates that Business First Bancshares will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.Read more about Business First Bancshares' dividend. News and Social Media0.0 / 5News Sentiment0.00 News Coverage This WeekMarketBeat has tracked 2 news articles for Business First Bancshares this week, compared to 2 articles on an average week. Company Ownership2.2 / 5Insider TradingSelling Shares Insider Buying vs. Insider SellingIn the past three months, Business First Bancshares insiders have sold 4,134.26% more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $47,415.00 in company stock and sold $2,007,675.00 in company stock.Percentage Held by Insiders5.67% of the stock of Business First Bancshares is held by insiders.Percentage Held by Institutions47.35% of the stock of Business First Bancshares is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.Read more about Business First Bancshares' insider trading history. Receive BFST Stock News and Ratings via Email Sign-up to receive the latest news and ratings for Business First Bancshares and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter. Submit View SMS TermsSMS is currently available in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. By entering your phone number and clicking the sign-up button, you agree to receive periodic text messages from MarketBeat at the phone number you submitted, including texts that may be sent using an automatic telephone dialing system. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency will vary. Messages will consist of stock alerts, news stories, and partner advertisements/offers. Consent is not a condition of the purchase of any goods or services. Text HELP for help/customer support. Unsubscribe at any time by replying "STOP" to any text message that you receive from MarketBeat or by visiting our mailing preferences page. Read our full terms of service and privacy policy. BFST Stock News HeadlinesBusiness First Bancshares (BFST) Set to Post Earnings on MondayOctober 19, 2026 | americanbankingnews.comFinancial Survey: Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) vs. BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) (NASDAQ:BCBP)October 12, 2026 | americanbankingnews.comYour book attachedBill Poulos is giving away his 'Safe Trade Options Formula' book for free - but only for a limited time through a temporary download link. He plans to charge for it soon. Download your copy now and lock it in at no cost, regardless of future pricing.October 23 at 1:00 AM | Profits Run (Ad)Business First Bancshares, Inc. Schedules Q3 2026 Earnings Release and Conference Call for Oct. 26October 1, 2026 | globenewswire.comAre options traders betting on a big move in Business First stock?September 15, 2026 | msn.comRegional Bank Director Liquidates 3,235 Shares, Valued at $102,873August 31, 2026 | fool.comWhat This Business First Insider Sale Signals After a 34% Stock RunAugust 2, 2026 | fool.comBusiness First Bancshares Inc (BFST) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Loan Production ...July 24, 2026 | finance.yahoo.comSee More Headlines BFST Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions How have BFST shares performed this year? Business First Bancshares' stock was trading at $26.14 on January 1st, 2026. Since then, BFST shares have increased by 21.7% and is now trading at $31.80. How were Business First Bancshares' earnings last quarter? Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July, 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The company earned $91.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 17.07%. Read the conference call transcript. How will Business First Bancshares' stock buyback program work? Business First Bancshares' board authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 28th 2025, which allows the company to buy back $30,000,000 in outstanding shares, according to EventVestor. This means that the company could purchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued. Who are Business First Bancshares' major shareholders? Business First Bancshares' top institutional shareholders include Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV (0.16%), Womack Financial LLC (0.12%), Kings Path Partners LLC (0.06%) and Sterling Capital Management LLC (0.03%). Insiders that own company stock include Rick D Day, George W Cummings III, Joseph Vernon Johnson, Rolfe H Jr Mccollister, Keith Mansfield, Greg Robertson, Mark P Folse, James J Buquet III, Warren Mcdonald, John P Ducrest, Donald Chad Carter and Saundra Strong. View institutional ownership trends. How do I buy shares of Business First Bancshares? Shares of BFST stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services. What other stocks do shareholders of Business First Bancshares own? Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Business First Bancshares investors own include Netflix (NFLX), Cadence Bank (CADE), Energy Transfer (ET), Walt Disney (DIS), Gold Resource (GORO), Alibaba Group (BABA) and Biglari (BH). Company Calendar Last Earnings7/23/2026Ex-Dividend for 8/31 Dividend8/14/2026Record date for 8/31 Dividend8/15/2026Dividend Payable8/31/2026Today10/23/2026Next Earnings (Estimated)10/26/2026Fiscal Year End12/31/2026Get Stock Alerts Health Indicator TradeSmith's Health IndicatorA long-term volatility-based measure designed for securities held 12 months or longer.Green: Strong and healthy uptrend with normal pullbacks.Yellow: Significant pullback but still within expected volatility.Red: Dropped beyond expected volatility; considered unhealthy. Green Zone (10m+) 1-Year History Oct 25 Jan 26 Apr 26 Jul 26 Oct 26 BFST's financial health is in the Green zone, according to TradeSmith. BFST has been in this zone for over 10 months. Industry, Sector and Symbol Stock ExchangeNASDAQ SectorFinance Industry Banks Sub-IndustryRegional Banks Current SymbolNASDAQ:BFST CIK1624322 Webwww.b1bank.com Phone(225) 248-7600Fax225-248-7650Employees842Year FoundedN/APrice Target and Rating Average Price Target for Business First Bancshares$34.75 High Price Target$37.00 Low Price Target$31.00 Potential Upside/Downside+9.3%Consensus RatingBuy Rating Score (0-4)3.00 Research Coverage5 Analysts Profitability EPS (Trailing Twelve Months)$2.82 Trailing P/E Ratio10.83 Forward P/E Ratio10.60 P/E GrowthN/ANet Income$87.86 million Net Margins17.07% Pretax Margin21.67% Return on Equity11.03% Return on Assets1.13% Debt Debt-to-Equity Ratio0.60 Current Ratio1.01 Quick Ratio1.01 Sales & Book Value Annual Sales$516.55 million Price / Sales2.00 Cash Flow$3.13 per share Price / Cash Flow10.16 Book Value$27.86 per share Price / Book1.14Miscellaneous Outstanding Shares32,550,000Free Float30,704,000Market Cap$1.04 billion OptionableOptionable Beta0.78 The 7 Hottest IPO Stories of 2026MarketBeat just released its list of the 7 hottest IPOs expected to hit Wall Street in 2026. 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