BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,732,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,985,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 8.40% of Business First Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at $1,608,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the first quarter worth about $1,636,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $579,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 255.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 441,853 shares of the company's stock worth $11,948,000 after acquiring an additional 317,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,282,000. 47.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares
In other news, COO Keith Mansfield sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total value of $134,736.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,139 shares in the company, valued at $2,474,619.12. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director George W. Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.33, for a total transaction of $313,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 78,275 shares of company stock valued at $2,435,775. 5.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently weighed in on BFST. DA Davidson upped their price target on Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens boosted their price objective 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. Hovde Group upped their target price on Business First Bancshares from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $34.75.
View Our Latest Analysis on Business First Bancshares
Business First Bancshares Price Performance
NASDAQ:BFST opened at $31.21 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.97. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.56 and a 12 month high of $32.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 17.07%. On average, analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.28%.
About Business First Bancshares
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BFST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report).
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