Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Shares Acquired by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 2,365.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246,500 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 236,500 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned 0.97% of Business First Bancshares worth $60,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 5.3% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 272,038 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,619,000 after purchasing an additional 13,611 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 45.8% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 3,055 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 20.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 173,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,218,000 after acquiring an additional 29,982 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 9.8% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 10,391 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, January 15th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Business First Bancshares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.33.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.37, for a total value of $156,590.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,306 shares in the company, valued at $543,725.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $21.12. 37,319 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 50,433. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.05 and a 12 month high of $25.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.94 and a 200-day moving average of $21.45. The company has a market cap of $535.60 million, a PE ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 0.94.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $101.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.40 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 18.22%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.54%.

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.