Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,618,636 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 245,491 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 5.48% of Business First Bancshares worth $41,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,582 shares of the company's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $111,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 81.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 3,883 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $294,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $304,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James raised Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST traded up $0.22 on Thursday, reaching $22.66. 15,694 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 102,107. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.97 and a 1-year high of $30.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.78 and a 200-day moving average of $25.95. The firm has a market cap of $669.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 0.75.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 14.19%. Equities analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, February 15th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.78%.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.46 per share, for a total transaction of $38,190.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 264,285 shares in the company, valued at $6,728,696.10. This represents a 0.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.