Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director George Cummings III Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director George Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.99, for a total transaction of $279,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 307,775 shares in the company, valued at $8,614,622.25. This represents a 3.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of BFST stock opened at $28.13 on Thursday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $919.29 million, a PE ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.26.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.04. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 17.02%.The business had revenue of $89.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.99 million. On average, analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 15,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 389.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 2,124 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens set a $33.00 price target on Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Business First Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Business First Bancshares has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.33.

About Business First Bancshares

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.