Should I buy or sell Business First Bancshares stock right now?

4 Wall Street equities research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Business First Bancshares in the last twelve months. There are currently 1 hold rating and 3 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street equities research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" BFST shares. View BFST analyst ratings or view top-rated stocks .

What is Business First Bancshares' stock price target for 2024?

4 brokers have issued 1-year price objectives for Business First Bancshares' shares. Their BFST share price targets range from $20.00 to $26.00. On average, they expect the company's stock price to reach $23.33 in the next year. This suggests a possible upside of 15.2% from the stock's current price. View analysts price targets for BFST or view top-rated stocks among Wall Street analysts .

How have BFST shares performed in 2024?

Business First Bancshares' stock was trading at $24.65 on January 1st, 2024. Since then, BFST shares have decreased by 17.8% and is now trading at $20.26. View the best growth stocks for 2024 here .

Are investors shorting Business First Bancshares?

Business First Bancshares saw a decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 195,800 shares, a decrease of 19.8% from the March 15th total of 244,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 49,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days. View Business First Bancshares' Short Interest .

When is Business First Bancshares' next earnings date?

The company is scheduled to release its next quarterly earnings announcement on Thursday, April 25th 2024. View our BFST earnings forecast .

How can I listen to Business First Bancshares' earnings call?

Business First Bancshares will be holding an earnings conference call on Thursday, April 25th at 5:00 PM Eastern. Interested parties can register for or listen to the call using this link .

How were Business First Bancshares' earnings last quarter?

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January, 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. The firm earned $101.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.40 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.22% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 13.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS.

How often does Business First Bancshares pay dividends? What is the dividend yield for Business First Bancshares?

Business First Bancshares declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share on Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 14th. Read our dividend analysis for BFST .

Is Business First Bancshares a good dividend stock?

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 2.75%. The company does not yet have a strong track record of dividend growth. The dividend payout ratio is 21.54%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, BFST will have a dividend payout ratio of 22.76% next year. This indicates that the company will be able to sustain or increase its dividend. Read our dividend analysis for BFST .

What other stocks do shareholders of Business First Bancshares own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some companies that other Business First Bancshares investors own include AbbVie (ABBV) , British American Tobacco (BTI) , Chatham Lodging Trust (CLDT) , Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) , Brinker International (EAT) , Eastman Chemical (EMN) , Enbridge (ENB) , Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) , Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) and Harley-Davidson (HOG) .

How do I buy shares of Business First Bancshares?

Shares of BFST stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services. Compare Top Brokerages Here .

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NASDAQ:BFST

Business First Bancshares (BFST) Stock Price, News & Analysis

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$20.26

-0.14 (-0.69%)

(As of 04/15/2024 ET)

Compare

Today's Range: $20.17
▼
$20.57
50-Day Range: $20.15
▼
$22.50
52-Week Range: $13.05
▼
$25.57

Volume: 30,244 shs
Average Volume: 40,650 shs
Market Capitalization: $517.44 million

P/E Ratio: 7.79
Dividend Yield: 2.76%
Price Target: $23.33

Get Business First Bancshares alerts:

Business First Bancshares MarketRank™ Stock Analysis

Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy
2.75 Rating Score
Upside/Downside: 15.2% Upside
$23.33 Price Target
Short Interest: Healthy
0.77% of Shares Sold Short
Dividend Strength: Moderate
Based on Four Factors
Sustainability: N/A
News Sentiment: 1.61
Based on 3 Articles This Week
Insider Trading: Selling Shares
$156,590 Sold Last Quarter
Proj. Earnings Growth: 5.58%
From $2.33 to $2.46 Per Share

Overall MarketRank^™

New Rank-Based ScoringMarketRank^™ is calculated by averaging available category scores (with extra weight given to analysis and valuation), then ranking the company's weighted average against that of other companies.

3.81 out of 5 stars

Finance Sector

373rd out of 879 stocks

State Commercial Banks Industry

94th out of 179 stocks

2.4

Analyst's Opinion

Consensus Rating
Business First Bancshares has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.75, and is based on 3 buy ratings, 1 hold rating, and no sell ratings.
Amount of Analyst Coverage
Business First Bancshares has only been the subject of 1 research reports in the past 90 days.

5.0

Short Interest

Percentage of Shares Shorted
0.77% of the outstanding shares of Business First Bancshares have been sold short.
Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover
Business First Bancshares has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.9, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.
Change versus previous month
Short interest in Business First Bancshares has recently decreased by 19.79%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

2.5

Dividend Strength

Dividend Yield
Business First Bancshares pays a meaningful dividend of 2.75%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.
Dividend Growth
Business First Bancshares has only been increasing its dividend for 1 years.
Dividend Coverage
The dividend payout ratio of Business First Bancshares is 21.54%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.
Dividend Sustainability
Based on earnings estimates, Business First Bancshares will have a dividend payout ratio of 22.76% next year. This indicates that Business First Bancshares will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

N/A

Sustainability and ESG

Overall ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Score
There is no current Upright™ data available for BFST.

3.1

News and Social Media Coverage

News Sentiment
Business First Bancshares has a news sentiment score of 1.61. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.64 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.
News Coverage This Week
MarketBeat has tracked 3 news articles for Business First Bancshares this week, compared to 1 article on an average week.

1.7

Company Ownership

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling
In the past three months, Business First Bancshares insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $156,590.00 in company stock.
Percentage Held by Insiders
Only 6.45% of the stock of Business First Bancshares is held by insiders.
Percentage Held by Institutions
47.35% of the stock of Business First Bancshares is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

2.5

Earnings and Valuation

Earnings Growth
Earnings for Business First Bancshares are expected to grow by 5.58% in the coming year, from $2.33 to $2.46 per share.
Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market
The P/E ratio of Business First Bancshares is 7.79, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 132.07.
Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector
The P/E ratio of Business First Bancshares is 7.79, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 56.57.
Price to Book Value per Share Ratio
Business First Bancshares has a P/B Ratio of 0.90. P/B Ratios below 1 indicate that a company could be undervalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

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About Business First Bancshares Stock (NASDAQ:BFST)

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. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans, such as working capital, term, equipment financing, asset acquisition, expansion and development, borrowing base, and other loan products, as well as commercial lines of credit, accounts receivable factoring, agricultural financing, and letters of credit; construction and development loans; commercial real estate loans; residential real estate loans comprising first and second lien 1-4 family mortgage loans, and home equity lines of credit; and consumer loans, including secured and unsecured installment, and term loans. In addition, it offers wealth management products, including mutual funds, annuities, individual retirement accounts, and other financial products, as well as other fiduciary and private banking products and services. Further, the company provides a range of other financial services comprising debit and credit cards, treasury and cash management, merchant, automated clearing house, lock-box, receivables factoring, correspondent banking, and other treasury services, as well as employee and payroll benefits solutions; and drive-through banking facilities, automated teller machines, night depository, personalized checks, electronic funds transfer, domestic and foreign wire transfer, traveler's checks, vault, loan and deposit sweep accounts, online and mobile banking, e-statements, and bank-by-mail services. Business First Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

BFST Stock Price History

30 days | 90 days | 365 days | Advanced Chart

BFST Stock News Headlines

April 6, 2024 | forbes.com

Business First Bancshares

April 2, 2024 | globenewswire.com

Business First Bancshares, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2024 Earnings Release Date and Conference Call

April 16, 2024 | InvestorPlace (Ad)

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March 21, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

Those who invested in Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) a year ago are up 33%

March 14, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

Insider Sell: Chief Credit Officer Warren Mcdonald Sells 7,000 Shares of Business First ...

February 24, 2024 | nasdaq.com

Business First Bancshares (BFST) Price Target Increased by 9.94% to 28.97

February 23, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

Owning 48% shares,institutional owners seem interested in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST),

February 2, 2024 | msn.com

Business First Bancshares Completes Waterstone LSP Acquisition

April 16, 2024 | InvestorPlace (Ad)

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A little-known investment analyst whose performance beat out 15,000+ other experts in 2020 has identified an opportunity in the A.I. space. He's calling it A.I.'s perfect storm.

February 1, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

Business First Bancshares, Inc. Announces Acquisition of Waterstone LSP, LLC

January 29, 2024 | seekingalpha.com

Business First Bancshares: TBV Per Share Has Stalled Since 2019

January 25, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

January 24, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

Business First Bancshares Inc Reports Mixed Results for FY 2023 and Q4

January 18, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

Can Business First (BFST) Keep the Earnings Surprise Streak Alive?

January 18, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

Why Earnings Season Could Be Great for Business First (BFST)

January 6, 2024 | benzinga.com

Business First Bancshares Stock (NASDAQ:BFST), Quotes and News Summary

January 3, 2024 | finance.yahoo.com

Business First Bancshares, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Release Date and Conference Call

November 21, 2023 | seekingalpha.com

BFST Business First Bancshares, Inc.

November 17, 2023 | finance.yahoo.com

Insider Sell Alert: Director Mark Folse Sells 25,000 Shares of Business First Bancshares Inc (BFST)

November 2, 2023 | finance.yahoo.com

b1BANK Hires Gerrit van de Wetering to Launch Derivative Solutions Services

October 29, 2023 | msn.com

Piper Sandler Maintains Business First Bancshares (BFST) Overweight Recommendation

October 27, 2023 | finance.yahoo.com

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

October 27, 2023 | finance.yahoo.com

Q3 2023 Business First Bancshares Inc Earnings Call

October 26, 2023 | seekingalpha.com

Business First Bancshares, Inc. 2023 Q3 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation

October 26, 2023 | finance.yahoo.com

Business First Bancshares Inc (BFST) Announces Q3 2023 Financial Results

October 26, 2023 | finance.yahoo.com

Business First Bancshares, Inc., Announces Financial Results for Q3 2023

October 25, 2023 | seekingalpha.com

Business First Bancshares: Attractively Valued But Q3 Earnings Likely To Be Flattish

See More Headlines

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Company Calendar

Last Earnings: 1/23/2024
Ex-Dividend for 2/28 Dividend: 2/14/2024
Dividend Payable: 2/28/2024
Today: 4/16/2024
Next Earnings (Confirmed): 4/25/2024
Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2024

Get Stock Alerts

Industry, Sector and Symbol

Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
Sector: Finance
Industry: State commercial banks
Sub-Industry: N/A
Current Symbol: NASDAQ:BFST
CUSIP: N/A
CIK: 1624322
Web: www.b1bank.com
Phone: (225) 248-7600
Fax: 225-248-7650
Employees: 751
Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

Average Stock Price Target: $23.33
High Stock Price Target: $26.00
Low Stock Price Target: $20.00
Potential Upside/Downside: +15.2%
Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
Rating Score (0-4): 2.75
Research Coverage: 4 Analysts

Profitability

EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $2.60
Trailing P/E Ratio: 7.79
Forward P/E Ratio: 8.70
P/E Growth: N/A
Net Income: $71.04 million
Net Margins: 18.22%
Pretax Margin: 23.23%
Return on Equity: 13.28%
Return on Assets: 1.11%

Debt

Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.08
Current Ratio: 1.01
Quick Ratio: 1.01

Sales & Book Value

Annual Sales: $389.97 million
Price / Sales: 1.33
Cash Flow: $2.86 per share
Price / Cash Flow: 7.08
Book Value: $22.58 per share
Price / Book: 0.90

Miscellaneous

Outstanding Shares: 25,540,000
Free Float: 23,891,000
Market Cap: $517.44 million
Optionable: Optionable
Beta: 0.94

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Key Executives

Mr. David R. Melville III (Age 49)
President, CEO & Director
Comp: $1.58M
Mr. Gregory Robertson (Age 52)
Executive VP, CFO & Treasurer
Comp: $643.79k
Mr. Keith Mansfield (Age 47)
Executive VP & COO
Comp: $627.32k
Ms. Saundra Strong (Age 46)
Executive VP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Comp: $470.14k
Mr. Philip Jordan (Age 51)
Executive VP & Chief Banking Officer
Comp: $698.68k
Mr. Norman Jerome Vascocu Jr. (Age 50)
Executive VP & Chief Administrative Officer
Comp: $369.28k
Dr. Margaret Singer Lee (Age 47)
Executive VP, Chief Human Resources Officer
Ms. Kathryn Manning (Age 36)
Executive VP & Chief Risk Officer
Mr. Jesse Jackson (Age 48)
Executive Vice President of Financial Institutions Group
Mr. Warren McDonald (Age 57)
Executive VP & Chief Credit Officer

Key Competitors

View All Competitors

Insiders & Institutions

View All Insider Transactions
View All Institutional Transactions

BFST Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

Should I buy or sell Business First Bancshares stock right now?: 4 Wall Street equities research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Business First Bancshares in the last twelve months. There are currently 1 hold rating and 3 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street equities research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" BFST shares.
View BFST analyst ratings or view top-rated stocks.
What is Business First Bancshares' stock price target for 2024?: 4 brokers have issued 1-year price objectives for Business First Bancshares' shares. Their BFST share price targets range from $20.00 to $26.00. On average, they expect the company's stock price to reach $23.33 in the next year. This suggests a possible upside of 15.2% from the stock's current price.
View analysts price targets for BFST or view top-rated stocks among Wall Street analysts.
How have BFST shares performed in 2024?: Business First Bancshares' stock was trading at $24.65 on January 1st, 2024. Since then, BFST shares have decreased by 17.8% and is now trading at $20.26.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.
Are investors shorting Business First Bancshares?: Business First Bancshares saw a decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 195,800 shares, a decrease of 19.8% from the March 15th total of 244,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 49,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.
View Business First Bancshares' Short Interest.
When is Business First Bancshares' next earnings date?: The company is scheduled to release its next quarterly earnings announcement on Thursday, April 25th 2024.
View our BFST earnings forecast.
How can I listen to Business First Bancshares' earnings call?: Business First Bancshares will be holding an earnings conference call on Thursday, April 25th at 5:00 PM Eastern. Interested parties can register for or listen to the call using this link.

How were Business First Bancshares' earnings last quarter?: Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January, 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. The firm earned $101.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.40 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.22% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 13.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS.
How often does Business First Bancshares pay dividends? What is the dividend yield for Business First Bancshares?: Business First Bancshares declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share on Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 14th.
Read our dividend analysis for BFST.
Is Business First Bancshares a good dividend stock?: Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 2.75%. The company does not yet have a strong track record of dividend growth. The dividend payout ratio is 21.54%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, BFST will have a dividend payout ratio of 22.76% next year. This indicates that the company will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.
Read our dividend analysis for BFST.
What other stocks do shareholders of Business First Bancshares own?: Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some companies that other Business First Bancshares investors own include AbbVie (ABBV), British American Tobacco (BTI), Chatham Lodging Trust (CLDT), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), Brinker International (EAT), Eastman Chemical (EMN), Enbridge (ENB), Enterprise Products Partners (EPD), Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) and Harley-Davidson (HOG).
How do I buy shares of Business First Bancshares?: Shares of BFST stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

This page (NASDAQ:BFST) was last updated on 4/16/2024 by MarketBeat.com Staff

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Business First Bancshares (BFST) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Business First Bancshares MarketRank™ Stock Analysis

Overall MarketRank™

Analyst's Opinion

Short Interest

Percentage of Shares Shorted

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Change versus previous month

Dividend Strength

Sustainability and ESG

Overall ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Score

News and Social Media Coverage

News Sentiment

News Coverage This Week

Company Ownership

Earnings and Valuation

About Business First Bancshares Stock (NASDAQ:BFST)

BFST Stock Price History

BFST Stock News Headlines

Company Calendar

Industry, Sector and Symbol

Price Target and Rating

Profitability

Debt

Sales & Book Value

Miscellaneous

Key Executives

Key Competitors

Insiders & Institutions

BFST Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

Overall MarketRank^™