Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 133,500 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the November 30th total of 124,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 94,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.
Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares
In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 2,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total value of $65,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 183,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,819,890.81. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,480 shares of company stock worth $329,972. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 384,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,862,000 after acquiring an additional 33,870 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 5.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 523,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,441,000 after purchasing an additional 24,992 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,115,000 after purchasing an additional 68,506 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 194.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 196,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,037,000 after buying an additional 129,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 158.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after buying an additional 28,663 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on BFST
Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.1 %
Business First Bancshares stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $25.70. The company had a trading volume of 85,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,232. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Business First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $18.97 and a 1 year high of $30.30. The firm has a market cap of $759.20 million, a P/E ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.98.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $113.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.24 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 11.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current year.
Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.14%.
Business First Bancshares Company Profile
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.
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