Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 81,833 Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its Business First Bancshares stake by 7.5%, buying 81,833 shares to own 1.17 million shares, or approximately 3.57% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 47.35% of BFST.
• Analysts remain bullish, with five firms assigning the stock a Buy rating and a consensus price target of $34.50. BFST also slightly exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.71 in EPS versus the $0.70 consensus.
• Business First Bancshares declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equivalent to $0.60 annually and a 1.9% yield. Separately, insiders sold 72,795 shares over the past quarter, while the stock recently traded near its 52-week high.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,165,720 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 81,833 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 3.57% of Business First Bancshares worth $31,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gator Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 65,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,343 shares of the company's stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 242,669 shares of the company's stock worth $6,343,000 after buying an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 15,600.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,092 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director George W. Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total transaction of $320,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 231,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,416,254.40. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Keith Mansfield sold 4,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total transaction of $134,736.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,139 shares in the company, valued at $2,474,619.12. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 72,795 shares of company stock valued at $2,185,668. 5.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BFST shares. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, July 6th. DA Davidson increased their price target 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. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $34.50.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of BFST opened at $32.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business's fifty day moving average price is $29.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.53. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.56 and a 52 week high of $32.39.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 17.07%.The company had revenue of $91.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $91.31 million. On average, analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.28%.

About Business First Bancshares

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.

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