Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Acquires $36,540.00 in Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.30 per share, with a total value of $36,540.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 262,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,334,535.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $21.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $536.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 0.95. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.05 and a 1-year high of $25.57.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth $216,000. KG&L Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $218,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth about $225,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 75.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 5,004 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James downgraded Business First Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, January 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.33.

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.