Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Stephens in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens' price target indicates a potential upside of 16.05% from the company's previous close.
Separately, Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on BFST
Business First Bancshares Stock Performance
Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $25.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $767.49 million, a PE ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 0.80. Business First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $20.07 and a 52 week high of $30.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $79.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.54 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 15.00%. Equities analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity
In other news, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,086 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total value of $25,759.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,642,254.20. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at $156,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at $1,150,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew 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 during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 149,712 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew 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 during the period. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Business First Bancshares Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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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