Curi RMB Capital LLC reduced its position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 250,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,524 shares during the quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC owned 0.85% of Business First Bancshares worth $6,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 7.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 407,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,468,000 after acquiring an additional 27,023 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 158.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 28,663 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 523,626 shares of the company's stock worth $13,441,000 after purchasing an additional 24,992 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 121,344 shares of the company's stock worth $3,119,000 after purchasing an additional 29,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Business First Bancshares by 25.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 171,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,365,000 after buying an additional 34,602 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares
In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.46 per share, with a total value of $38,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 264,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,728,696.10. The trade was a 0.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.45% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BFST. Raymond James lowered their target price on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Stephens lowered their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Hovde Group raised Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Business First Bancshares
Business First Bancshares Trading Down 3.6 %
Business First Bancshares stock traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.80. 83,359 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 87,731. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.97 and a 52-week high of $30.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $674.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.75. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $24.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.89.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 14.19%. The firm had revenue of $79.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.54 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
About Business First Bancshares
(
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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