Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Upgraded by DA Davidson to Strong-Buy Rating

Key Points

• Business First Bancshares was upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by DA Davidson, joining a consensus rating of "Buy" with an average price target of $30.75.
• Recently, the company reported earnings per share of $0.66 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, while also having a significant revenue of $103.01 million.
• Strong insider activity was noted as Director John P. Ducrest increased his position by 19.36% after purchasing shares at $23.62 each.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at DA Davidson to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on BFST. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $30.75.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST opened at $23.17 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.05. Business First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $20.07 and a 12-month high of $30.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $685.83 million, a P/E ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.86.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 15.47%.The firm had revenue of $103.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.94 million. Analysts predict that Business First Bancshares will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John P. Ducrest purchased 2,225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.62 per share, for a total transaction of $52,554.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $323,971.92. This trade represents a 19.36% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 32.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 86.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,434 shares of the company's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 199.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 43,120 shares of the company's stock worth $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 28,735 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 9.0% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 37,441 shares of the company's stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 3,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ranger Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 7.4% in the second quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 343,700 shares of the company's stock worth $8,472,000 after purchasing an additional 23,715 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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