Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Takes Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 24,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $628,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.08% of Business First Bancshares as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BFST. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $111,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $218,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Business First Bancshares stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 77,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 90,919. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $23.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.62. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.97 and a 12 month high of $30.30. The company has a market capitalization of $700.51 million, a PE ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.81.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The firm had revenue of $79.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $77.54 million. Analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In other news, Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.46 per share, with a total value of $38,190.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 264,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,728,696.10. This represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BFST shares. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

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.