Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.15 on November 30th

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Saturday, November 15th will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share on Sunday, November 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This is a 7.1% increase from Business First Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14.

Business First Bancshares has a payout ratio of 19.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Business First Bancshares to earn $2.96 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.9%.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 6.9%

Business First Bancshares stock opened at $25.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $740.30 million, a P/E ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 0.86. Business First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $20.07 and a 1-year high of $30.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.08. 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 (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $80.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.50 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.94% and a return on equity of 11.27%. Research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director John P. Ducrest acquired 2,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.62 per share, for a total transaction of $52,554.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 13,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $323,971.92. This trade represents a 19.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Security National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $418,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,490,000. Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

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.