Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST Shares Purchased by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. by 26.6% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.19% of the company valued at $1.36 million.
• Business First Bancshares announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, resulting in a 2.4% yield and a payout ratio of 22.31%.
• Recent earnings showed the company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and generating revenues of $103.01 million, significantly higher than the expected $78.94 million.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 26.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,890 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,727 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.19% of Business First Bancshares worth $1,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,000. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $128,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 12,527.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,430 shares of the company's stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 5,387 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on BFST. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $30.75.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other news, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,086 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total value of $25,759.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,642,254.20. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Ducrest purchased 2,225 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.62 per share, with a total value of $52,554.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $323,971.92. This trade represents a 19.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of BFST traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $24.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 98,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 95,847. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $713.95 million, a P/E ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.85. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.07 and a 1-year high of $30.30.

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

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.31%.

About Business First Bancshares

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.