Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $32.53 and last traded at $32.5570, with a volume of 16,732 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on BFST. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Business First Bancshares from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $35.75.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.35. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.73.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.08% and a return on equity of 11.30%. The business had revenue of $93.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.25 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Investors of record on Sunday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Saundra Strong sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.98, for a total transaction of $31,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,878 shares in the company, valued at $155,998.44. The trade was a 17.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Donald Chad Carter sold 1,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.64, for a total value of $59,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $399,992.88. This represents a 12.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,075 shares of company stock valued at $853,739. Insiders own 5.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the second quarter worth $39,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $97,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $217,000. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $224,000. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

Business First Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Through its principal banking subsidiary, b1BANK, the company provides financial services to businesses, professionals and individual customers.

b1BANK offers commercial and consumer deposit accounts, commercial and real estate lending, residential mortgage loans, treasury management and other traditional banking services. The bank also provides wealth management and related financial services designed to support business owners, institutions and retail customers.

Business First Bancshares was established in 2006 and has expanded its presence across Louisiana and into Texas.