Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST Shares Acquired by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has increased its stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. by 15.8%, now owning approximately $5.58 million worth of shares.
• Four equities research analysts have issued a Buy rating for the stock, with a consensus price target of $30.75.
• Business First Bancshares recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, with a yield of 2.3%, to be paid on August 31st.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 15.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,991 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,293 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.77% of Business First Bancshares worth $5,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,490,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,105,000 after buying an additional 2,064 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 55,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,361,000 after buying an additional 11,727 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 54,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,325,000 after buying an additional 6,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 23,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 3,981 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BFST shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Business First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $30.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In other news, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,086 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total transaction of $25,759.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 69,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,642,254.20. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Ducrest purchased 2,225 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.62 per share, with a total value of $52,554.50. Following the acquisition, the director 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 5.68% of the company's stock.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.41. 77,062 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 97,908. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.07 and a twelve month high of $30.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $752.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $103.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $78.94 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.47% and a return on equity of 11.21%. Research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Business First Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 22.31%.

Business First Bancshares 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.