Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Acquires New Holdings in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 35,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned 0.12% of Business First Bancshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BFST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,618,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,599,000 after purchasing an additional 245,491 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 798,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,512,000 after buying an additional 83,664 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 607,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,624,000 after buying an additional 46,492 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 538,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,837,000 after acquiring an additional 88,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banc Funds Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC now owns 478,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,297,000 after acquiring an additional 16,000 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST opened at $23.69 on Friday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.97 and a fifty-two week high of $30.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $700.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.75.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $79.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.54 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 11.88%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 23.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on BFST shares. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Hovde Group raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.46 per share, for a total transaction of $38,190.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 264,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,728,696.10. This trade represents a 0.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

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.