Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Takes Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,562 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 158.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,792 shares of the company's stock worth $1,201,000 after buying an additional 28,663 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 171,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,365,000 after acquiring an additional 34,602 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 407,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,468,000 after acquiring an additional 27,023 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $466,000. Finally, E&G Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $702,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.46 per share, for a total transaction of $38,190.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.45% of the company's stock.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of BFST opened at $23.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $23.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $708.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.81. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.97 and a twelve month high of $30.30.

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

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Business First Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 23.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Hovde Group raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens decreased their target price on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Business First Bancshares Company 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.

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