Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $27.34 and last traded at $27.34, with a volume of 19703 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $25.14 and its 200-day moving average is $22.89. The stock has a market cap of $667.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.11. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 11.81%. The firm had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, November 30th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total transaction of $105,987.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 203,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,407,940.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total transaction of $105,987.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 203,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,407,940.51. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total transaction of $37,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at $471,264.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,115,000 after acquiring an additional 68,506 shares in the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 21,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 20,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 5,004 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.