Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,086 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total transaction of $25,759.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,642,254.20. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.
Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.8%
NASDAQ:BFST traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.93. 95,337 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 91,360. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $710.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.97 and a 12-month high of $30.30.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 earnings per share for the current year.
Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.05%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
BFST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James dropped their target price on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Business First Bancshares
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the first quarter worth about $156,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the first quarter worth $1,150,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 8.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 85,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,080,000 after buying an additional 6,596 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1,532.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,883,000 after buying an additional 149,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,343 shares of the company's stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.
About Business First Bancshares
(
Get Free Report)
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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