Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 33,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,000. Business First Bancshares accounts for 0.7% of Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC owned 0.11% of Business First Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $67,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $85,000. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 976 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $94,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In related news, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total transaction of $25,759.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,642,254.20. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BFST. Stephens lowered 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. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 0.2%

BFST opened at $24.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $732.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.07 and a 12 month high of $30.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.79.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $79.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.54 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 15.00%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 23.05%.

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.