Business First Bancshares (BFST) Projected to Post Earnings on Thursday

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) is projected to release its Q3 2025 results after the market closes on Thursday, October 23rd. Analysts expect Business First Bancshares to post earnings of $0.69 per share and revenue of $80.4980 million for the quarter. Interested persons can check the company’s upcoming Q3 2025 earningsummary page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Thursday, October 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM ET.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.47% and a return on equity of 11.21%. The business had revenue of $103.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.94 million. On average, analysts expect Business First Bancshares to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 1.6%

Business First Bancshares stock opened at $23.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Business First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $20.07 and a 1-year high of $30.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $685.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.86.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John P. Ducrest acquired 2,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.62 per share, for a total transaction of $52,554.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $323,971.92. The trade was a 19.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BFST. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1,532.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,883,000 after acquiring an additional 149,712 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the first quarter valued at about $1,150,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $763,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 199.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 43,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 28,735 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 115.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 38,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 20,620 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.75.

About Business First Bancshares

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.