Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Reduces Stock Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lessened its position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,395 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. owned 0.07% of Business First Bancshares worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 160.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $72,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $127,000. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $156,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on BFST shares. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Business First Bancshares to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Business First Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director John P. Ducrest purchased 2,225 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.62 per share, with a total value of $52,554.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 13,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $323,971.92. This trade represents a 19.36% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.68% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BFST opened at $23.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $692.64 million, a PE ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.86. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.07 and a 1 year high of $30.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.06.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $80.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.50 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 15.47%. On average, research analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

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.