Go Pro
NASDAQ:BFST

Business First Bancshares (BFST) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Business First Bancshares logo
$32.06 +0.14 (+0.44%)
Closing price 03:59 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$32.06 0.00 (0.00%)
As of 04:20 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.

About Business First Bancshares Stock (NASDAQ:BFST)

Advanced

Key Stats

Today's Range
$31.80
$32.33
50-Day Range
$27.73
$32.08
52-Week Range
$22.56
$32.39
Volume
240,986 shs
Average Volume
206,263 shs
Market Capitalization
$1.05 billion
P/E Ratio
11.37
Dividend Yield
1.87%
Price Target
$34.50
Consensus Rating
Buy

Company Overview

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. Its commercial lending portfolio spans lines of credit, term loans, real estate financing and equipment financing, designed to meet the working capital and expansion needs of growing businesses. On the retail side, Business First Bancshares offers checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential mortgage lending and digital banking platforms, as well as online bill pay and mobile deposit services.

Business First Bancshares has expanded its branch network across multiple states in the Upper South and Midwest, including Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee, with plans to extend its reach into neighboring markets. This regional presence supports the company’s strategy of serving underserved business communities and fostering long-term client relationships. The bank’s localized approach allows it to tailor products and services to the economic drivers and industries of each market it serves.

Since its founding, Business First Bancshares has maintained a focus on prudent risk management and community engagement. The company’s leadership team comprises seasoned banking professionals with experience in commercial finance, regulatory compliance and community development. By combining local expertise with a broad product offering, Business First Bancshares aims to support the growth of businesses and individuals in its core markets.

AI Generated. May Contain Errors.

Business First Bancshares Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

See Top-Rated MarketRank™ Stocks
89th Percentile Overall Score

BFST MarketRank™: 

Business First Bancshares scored higher than 89% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 141st out of 849 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

  • Consensus Rating

    Business 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/Downside

    The consensus price target for Business First Bancshares is close to its current price, suggesting limited near-term upside or downside.

  • Amount of Analyst Coverage

    Business First Bancshares has only been the subject of 4 research reports in the past 90 days.

  • Read more about Business First Bancshares' stock forecast and price target.
  • Earnings Growth

    Earnings for Business First Bancshares are expected to grow by 9.27% in the coming year, from $3.02 to $3.30 per share.

  • Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

    The P/E ratio of Business First Bancshares is 11.44, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 40.44.

  • Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

    The P/E ratio of Business First Bancshares is 11.44, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 28.83.

  • Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

    Business First Bancshares has a P/B Ratio of 1.16. 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.
  • Percentage of Shares Shorted

    3.05% of the float of Business First Bancshares has been sold short.
  • Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

    Business First Bancshares has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.41.
  • Change versus previous month

    Short interest in Business First Bancshares has recently decreased by 10.91%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.
  • Dividend Yield

    Business First Bancshares pays a meaningful dividend of 1.89%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

  • Dividend Growth

    Business First Bancshares has only been increasing its dividend for 2 years.

  • Dividend Coverage

    The dividend payout ratio of Business First Bancshares is 21.28%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

  • Dividend Sustainability

    Based on earnings estimates, Business First Bancshares will have a dividend payout ratio of 18.18% 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 Sentiment

    Business First Bancshares has a news sentiment score of 0.60. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.79 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.
  • News Coverage This Week

    MarketBeat has tracked 17 news articles for Business First Bancshares this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.
  • Search Interest

    1 people have searched for BFST on MarketBeat in the last 30 days.
  • Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

    In the past three months, Business First Bancshares insiders have sold 4,509.66% more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $47,415.00 in company stock and sold $2,185,668.00 in company stock.

  • Percentage Held by Insiders

    5.67% of the stock of Business First Bancshares is held by insiders.

  • Percentage Held by Institutions

    47.35% 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.

SMS 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 Headlines

Where to Put $100 Before Trump's New Tech Law Rolls Out
The Financial Times says a new tech law puts America 'on the verge of a financial revolution.' Yahoo Finance estimates it could unlock $400 trillion - but analyst Jeff Brown, who was consulted by Congressional offices on the legislation, believes the real figure could reach $2.6 quadrillion. Brown says this shift will pour onto a new type of investment exchange - and he's showing investors how to position themselves starting with just $100.tc pixel
See More Headlines

BFST Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

Business First Bancshares' stock was trading at $26.14 at the beginning of 2026. Since then, BFST shares have increased by 23.5% and is now trading at $32.2720.

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July, 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $91.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.07% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 11.31%.
Read the conference call transcript
.

Business First Bancshares' Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, October 28th 2025, which allows the company to repurchase $30,000,000 in shares, according to EventVestor. This means that the company could buy up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Business First Bancshares' top institutional investors include Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC (0.11%). 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, Jesse Jackson, Warren Mcdonald, Donald Chad Carter, John P Ducrest and Saundra Strong.
View institutional ownership trends
.

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.

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Business First Bancshares investors own include NVIDIA (NVDA), Meta Platforms (META), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Broadcom (AVGO), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Netflix (NFLX) and ServiceNow (NOW).

Company Calendar

Record date for 5/29 Dividend
5/15/2026
Ex-Dividend for 5/29 Dividend
5/15/2026
Dividend Payable
5/29/2026
Last Earnings
7/23/2026
Today
8/04/2026
Ex-Dividend for 8/31 Dividend
8/14/2026
Record date for 8/31 Dividend
8/15/2026
Dividend Payable
8/31/2026
Next Earnings (Estimated)
10/22/2026
Fiscal Year End
12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

Stock Exchange
NASDAQ
Sector
Finance
Industry
Banks
Sub-Industry
Regional Banks
Current Symbol
NASDAQ:BFST
CIK
1624322
Employees
750
Year Founded
N/A

Price Target and Rating

High Price Target
$36.00
Low Price Target
$31.00
Potential Upside/Downside
+7.6%
Consensus Rating
Buy
Rating Score (0-4)
3.00
Research Coverage
5 Analysts

Profitability

EPS (Trailing Twelve Months)
$2.82
Trailing P/E Ratio
11.37
Forward P/E Ratio
10.62
P/E Growth
N/A
Net Income
$87.86 million
Net Margins
17.07%
Pretax Margin
21.66%
Return on Equity
11.31%
Return on Assets
1.15%

Debt

Debt-to-Equity Ratio
0.39
Current Ratio
0.98
Quick Ratio
0.98

Sales & Book Value

Annual Sales
$516.55 million
Price / Sales
2.03
Cash Flow
$3.17 per share
Price / Cash Flow
10.12
Book Value
$27.86 per share
Price / Book
1.15

Miscellaneous

Outstanding Shares
32,680,000
Free Float
30,825,000
Market Cap
$1.05 billion
Optionable
Optionable
Beta
0.78
10 Best Stocks to Own - Summer 2026 Cover

Enter your email address and we’ll send you MarketBeat’s list of ten stocks set to soar in Summer 2026, despite the threat of tariffs and what's happening in Iran. These ten stocks are incredibly resilient and are likely to thrive in any economic environment.

Get This Free Report

This page (NASDAQ:BFST) was last updated on 8/4/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
From Our Partners