Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Business First Bancshares by 50.7%, acquiring an additional 13,785 shares, bringing its total ownership to 41,000 shares valued at approximately $998,000.
• Business First Bancshares announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.4% and a dividend payout ratio of 23.05%.
• Analysts have varying price targets for the stock, with DA Davidson raising their price target to $32.00 and Raymond James lowering it to $28.00, indicating mixed sentiments regarding the company's performance.

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 50.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,785 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Business First Bancshares worth $998,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $94,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $111,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST traded up $0.14 during trading on Monday, reaching $23.06. The stock had a trading volume of 24,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,525. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $24.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $684.77 million, a P/E ratio of 9.19 and a beta of 0.85. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.07 and a fifty-two week high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $103.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.94 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.47% and a return on equity of 11.50%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 22.31%.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In related news, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,086 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 69,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,642,254.20. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Ducrest acquired 2,225 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.62 per share, with a total value of $52,554.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 13,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $323,971.92. This trade represents a 19.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BFST. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut 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 report on Friday, April 25th.

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.