Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Shares Up 0.1% – Still a Buy?

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) shot up 0.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $27.69 and last traded at $27.57. 142,236 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 192,683 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Stephens increased their price target on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.72 and a 200-day moving average of $26.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $925.04 million, a P/E ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.82.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 17.01%.The business had revenue of $69.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.41 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, February 28th. Investors of record on Sunday, February 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.51%.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Mark P. Folse sold 4,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.51, for a total value of $143,241.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 53,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,572,469.86. The trade was a 8.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rick D. Day bought 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $41,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 267,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,366,456.75. This trade represents a 0.56% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 13,778 shares of company stock worth $399,361 in the last 90 days. 6.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $239,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $210,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $408,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 117,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,069,000 after acquiring an additional 15,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VARCOV Co. bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $266,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Business First Bancshares

Business First Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Business First Bank, a regional community bank headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company provides a full suite of commercial and retail banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals and individual consumers. Business First Bancshares operates under a community-focused model, emphasizing personalized service, local decision-making and relationship banking.

The company’s primary business activities include commercial lending, treasury and cash management, and deposit services.