George Cummings III Sells 10,000 Shares of Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director George Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.86, for a total transaction of $318,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 251,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,002,594.80. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $31.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.56 and a twelve month high of $32.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $29.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.43. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFST. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 115.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 38,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $937,000 after acquiring an additional 20,620 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 1,532.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,883,000 after purchasing an additional 149,712 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 85,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 6,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $1,150,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Business First Bancshares

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BFST. Stephens lifted their price target 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Business First Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $34.50.

Business First Bancshares Company 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.