Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Business First Bancshares beat earnings expectations: Quarterly EPS was $0.79 versus the $0.74 consensus estimate, while revenue of $93.0 million narrowly missed expectations of $93.25 million. Net margin was 17.07% and return on equity was 11.03%.
• Analysts remain bullish on BFST: Five analysts maintain Buy ratings, with the consensus price target rising to $34.75 from the latest target increases ranging from $35 to $37.
• Insiders have been selling shares: Insiders sold 63,275 shares worth approximately $2.01 million during the last quarter, though insiders still own 5.67% of the company.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $93.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.25 million.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of BFST opened at $31.80 on Monday. Business First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $23.55 and a 12-month high of $32.53. The business's fifty day moving average is $31.08 and its 200 day moving average is $29.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director George W. Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.33, for a total transaction of $313,300.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 183,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,756,730.85. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Saundra Strong sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.98, for a total transaction of $31,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,998.44. The trade was a 17.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 63,275 shares of company stock worth $2,007,675 in the last quarter. Insiders own 5.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BFST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens boosted their target price on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Business First Bancshares from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price target on Business First Bancshares from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.75.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

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.

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