18,819 Shares in Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST Acquired by Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC has made a new investment of approximately $458,000 in Business First Bancshares, acquiring 18,819 shares of the company's stock.
• Business First Bancshares recently reported an impressive earnings result of $0.66 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.65, and achieved a revenue of $103.01 million for the quarter.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.14 was recently paid, resulting in an annualized dividend of $0.56 and a dividend yield of 2.3%.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 18,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $458,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned about 0.06% of Business First Bancshares at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $94,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 15.2% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares in the first quarter valued at about $127,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $128,000. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BFST shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Business First Bancshares from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Stephens reissued 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, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.75.

Business First Bancshares Stock Down 1.7%

BFST traded down $0.41 on Friday, hitting $24.41. 75,910 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 83,792. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.07 and a 12 month high of $30.30. The company has a market cap of $722.61 million, a PE ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock's fifty day moving average is $24.85 and its 200-day moving average is $24.24.

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. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 15.47%.The business had revenue of $103.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.94 million. Equities research analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director John P. Ducrest acquired 2,225 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.62 per share, with a total value of $52,554.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $323,971.92. This represents a 19.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.