Insider Selling: Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Sells 4,200 Shares of Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director George Cummings III sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.27, for a total transaction of $131,334.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 193,745 shares in the company, valued at $6,058,406.15. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Business First Bancshares Stock Down 0.4%

BFST stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.16. 115,085 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 206,759. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $30.88 and its 200 day moving average is $28.92. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.56 and a twelve month high of $32.53.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 17.07%.The company had revenue of $91.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.31 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 21.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BFST. Gator Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 65,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Business First Bancshares by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 31,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 242,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,343,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BFST shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Stephens lifted their target price on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $32.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Business First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $34.50.

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.