Northern Trust Corp Boosts Holdings in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 232,329 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,434 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.79% of Business First Bancshares worth $5,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,582 shares of the company's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $111,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,144 shares of the company's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.46 per share, with a total value of $38,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 264,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,728,696.10. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens lowered their price target on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.7%

BFST stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $23.59. 77,989 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 91,140. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.54. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.97 and a 1-year high of $30.30. The stock 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $79.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.54 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 14.19%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Business First Bancshares Company 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.