Prospector Partners LLC Buys Shares of 21,000 Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Key Points

• Prospector Partners LLC purchased 21,000 shares of Business First Bancshares, valued at approximately $511,000, representing about 0.07% ownership of the company.
• Business First Bancshares reported a $0.66 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenue of $103.01 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.4%, payable to stockholders on August 31st.

Prospector Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 21,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $511,000. Prospector Partners LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Business First Bancshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 111.1% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 623,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,023,000 after acquiring an additional 328,189 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 798,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,512,000 after acquiring an additional 83,664 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 610,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,871,000 after acquiring an additional 72,328 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $1,815,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at $1,490,000. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,086 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total transaction of $25,759.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 69,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,254.20. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Ducrest purchased 2,225 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.62 per share, for a total transaction of $52,554.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $323,971.92. This represents a 19.36% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 6.45% of the company's stock.

Business First Bancshares Stock Down 2.3%

BFST opened at $23.78 on Monday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $20.07 and a one year high of $30.30. 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 $24.61 and its 200-day moving average is $24.54. The company has a market capitalization of $703.89 million, a PE ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 0.85.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $103.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $78.94 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 15.47%. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Business First Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 22.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on BFST shares. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th.

About Business First Bancshares

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.

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