Janus Henderson Group PLC Grows Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 111.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 623,464 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 328,189 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 2.11% of Business First Bancshares worth $16,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Financial Services LTD. bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $466,000. E&G Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $702,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 133,761 shares of the company's stock worth $3,438,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,812 shares of the company's stock worth $2,025,000 after buying an additional 3,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MGB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $841,000. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rick D. Day bought 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.46 per share, with a total value of $38,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 264,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,728,696.10. The trade was a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.68% of the company's stock.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Business First Bancshares stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.11. 6,583 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 90,181. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $715.80 million, a P/E ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.81. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.97 and a 12 month high of $30.30. The stock's fifty day moving average is $23.59 and its 200-day moving average is $25.67.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The company had revenue of $79.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.54 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BFST shares. Stephens reduced their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James decreased their target price on 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. Finally, Hovde Group raised Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $31.50 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th.

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.