Insider Selling: Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Sells $317,500.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 10,000 BFST shares for $317,500 at an average price of $31.75, reducing his ownership by 5.43% to 174,073 shares. He also sold an additional 2,000 shares for $62,300 the following day.
• Business First Bancshares reported quarterly EPS of $0.71, slightly above analyst estimates, while revenue totaled $91 million. The company also announced a $0.15 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.9% yield.
• Analysts maintained a positive outlook, with five Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $34.50; institutional investors own 47.35% of the company.

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total transaction of $317,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 174,073 shares in the company, valued at $5,526,817.75. The trade was a 5.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Joseph Vernon Johnson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, July 29th, Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 2,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $62,300.00.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST traded down $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $31.94. 307,402 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 204,747. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.37. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.56 and a 12-month high of $32.39.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $91.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 17.07%. On average, analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 21.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the first quarter worth $1,608,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 989,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,761,000 after acquiring an additional 3,540 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 3.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 121,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,283,000 after acquiring an additional 3,997 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 63.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 18,033 shares of the company's stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 6,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FreeGulliver LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $812,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BFST shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $34.50.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

Business First Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Business First Bank, a regional community bank headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company provides a full suite of commercial and retail banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals and individual consumers. Business First Bancshares operates under a community-focused model, emphasizing personalized service, local decision-making and relationship banking.

The company’s primary business activities include commercial lending, treasury and cash management, and deposit services.

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