What is DA Davidson's Forecast for BFST FY2026 Earnings?

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) - Stock analysts at DA Davidson upped their FY2026 EPS estimates for Business First Bancshares in a research note issued on Thursday, July 10th. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $3.10 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $3.00. DA Davidson currently has a "Buy" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Business First Bancshares' current full-year earnings is $2.72 per share.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on BFST. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, July 8th.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST opened at $25.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $764.52 million, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's fifty day moving average is $24.29 and its 200-day moving average is $24.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Business First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $20.07 and a 52 week high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $79.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.54 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 11.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 121,344 shares of the company's stock worth $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 29,989 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,158 shares of the company's stock worth $5,709,000 after acquiring an additional 25,920 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 538,402 shares of the company's stock worth $13,837,000 after acquiring an additional 88,546 shares during the last quarter. Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $816,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $294,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In related news, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,086 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total value of $25,759.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 69,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,254.20. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Business First Bancshares's payout ratio is 23.05%.

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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