Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases Shares of 17,972 Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,000. Quantbot Technologies LP owned about 0.06% of Business First Bancshares as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at $83,985,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,591,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,566,000 after buying an additional 17,690 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,165,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,520,000 after buying an additional 81,833 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 989,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,761,000 after buying an additional 3,540 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 823,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,523,000 after acquiring an additional 175,284 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, COO Keith Mansfield sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total transaction of $134,736.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,474,619.12. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Saundra Strong sold 1,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.98, for a total transaction of $31,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $155,998.44. This represents a 17.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 78,275 shares of company stock worth $2,435,775 in the last ninety days. 5.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $31.23 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.95. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $22.56 and a one year high of $32.53. 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 market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.78.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $91.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 17.07%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BFST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.75.

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.