Royce & Associates LP Raises Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 9.9%, acquiring an additional 46,690 shares, bringing its total ownership to 519,120 shares valued at approximately $12.64 million.
• Business First Bancshares reported earnings of $0.65 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue of $79.21 million against a consensus estimate of $77.54 million.
• Following a recent sale by CFO Greg Robertson, corporate insiders hold 5.68% of the company's stock, while institutional investors collectively own 47.35%.

Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 9.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 519,120 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 46,690 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 1.76% of Business First Bancshares worth $12,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BFST. Gries Financial LLC acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares in the first quarter valued at $1,329,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,000 shares of the company's stock worth $998,000 after acquiring an additional 13,785 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $355,000. Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $816,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 12,527.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,430 shares of the company's stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 5,387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,086 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total transaction of $25,759.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,642,254.20. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 5.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:BFST traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $24.93. The stock had a trading volume of 11,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,043. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $20.07 and a one year high of $30.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $740.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 0.80.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The firm had revenue of $103.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.94 million. Research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on BFST shares. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. 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. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th.

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.