Jupiter Topco LLC Makes New $33.49 Million Investment in Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Key Points

• Jupiter Topco LLC acquired 1,089,827 shares of Business First Bancshares, valued at approximately $33.49 million and representing a 3.35% stake. Several other major institutions also initiated or expanded positions, with institutional ownership reaching 47.35%.
• Analysts remain bullish, with five Buy ratings and an average price target of $34.75, above the stock’s reported $31.21 opening price. Recent targets range from $35 to $37.
• Business First Bancshares slightly exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.71 EPS and $91.81 million in revenue, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equivalent to a 1.9% annualized yield.

Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,089,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,491,000. Jupiter Topco LLC owned 3.35% of Business First Bancshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BFST. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $83,985,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at about $13,853,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at about $13,276,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $8,743,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 823,364 shares of the company's stock worth $21,523,000 after buying an additional 175,284 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective 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. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Business First Bancshares has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $34.75.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of BFST opened at $31.21 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.08 and a 200 day moving average of $28.97. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.56 and a fifty-two week high of $32.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $91.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 11.03%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Business First Bancshares's payout ratio is 21.28%.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, EVP Donald Chad Carter sold 1,875 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.64, for a total transaction of $59,325.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at $399,992.88. The trade was a 12.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Keith Mansfield sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total value of $134,736.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,474,619.12. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 78,275 shares of company stock worth $2,435,775 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.67% of the company's stock.

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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