70,621 Shares in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Acquired by Cresset Asset Management LLC

Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 70,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,815,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 164,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,231,000 after buying an additional 3,809 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 28,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,000 after acquiring an additional 6,109 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $921,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 88.0% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 7,599 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In other news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.46 per share, for a total transaction of $38,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 264,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,728,696.10. The trade was a 0.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.68% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ 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 company has a market cap of $711.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.57 and a 200-day moving average of $25.74. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.97 and a 1-year high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $79.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.54 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 14.19%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 23.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.