Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST Shares Bought by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 255.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 441,853 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 317,650 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Business First Bancshares were worth $11,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Business First Bancshares by 15,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the period. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 389.7% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,124 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $123,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BFST. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Monday, July 6th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $34.50.

More Business First Bancshares News

Here are the key news stories impacting Business First Bancshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish following the quarterly results: Stephens and Hovde Group raised their price targets to $36, while DA Davidson lifted its target to $35. The consensus rating is “Buy,” with an average target of $34.50, implying additional upside from recent levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Business First Bancshares reported quarterly EPS of $0.71, slightly ahead of the $0.70 consensus estimate. The bank also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, or $0.60 annualized, representing a yield of approximately 1.9% and a payout ratio of 21.28%.
• Positive Sentiment: Director Rick Day purchased 1,500 shares for approximately $47,415, modestly increasing his ownership and providing a small vote of confidence from an insider. Insider Buying: Business First Bancshares Director Acquires Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: BFST trades above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages and near its 52-week high, indicating strong recent momentum but also leaving the stock more sensitive to profit-taking. Institutional investors own approximately 47.35% of the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders sold shares in recent transactions. Director George W. Cummings III sold a combined 20,000 shares for roughly $639,400, COO Keith Mansfield sold 4,200 shares for $134,736, and Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 12,000 shares for approximately $379,800. Although each executive retains a substantial stake, the cluster of sales may be interpreted as a near-term caution signal. Business First Bancshares Insider Sale SEC Filing

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST opened at $31.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.56 and a 12 month high of $32.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $29.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.43.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 17.07%.The firm had revenue of $91.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.31 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director George W. Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total value of $320,800.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 231,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,416,254.40. The trade was a 4.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $62,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 172,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,073.95. This represents a 1.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 72,795 shares of company stock valued at $2,185,668 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.67% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Profile

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.