Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Stock Rating Upgraded by Raymond James

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) was upgraded by research analysts at Raymond James from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $30.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.87% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, Hovde Group downgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $30.00 to $31.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Business First Bancshares Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST opened at $25.67 on Thursday. Business First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $18.97 and a 52-week high of $30.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.59. The stock has a market cap of $758.32 million, a P/E ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.98.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.11. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The firm had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total transaction of $105,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 203,077 shares in the company, valued at $5,407,940.51. The trade was a 1.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 12,480 shares of company stock valued at $329,972 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFST. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1,380.0% in the second quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 370,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,051,000 after buying an additional 345,000 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 921.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 295,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,580,000 after acquiring an additional 266,380 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Business First Bancshares by 194.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 196,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,037,000 after purchasing an additional 129,677 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 19.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,115,000 after purchasing an additional 68,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Business First Bancshares by 8.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 669,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,568,000 after purchasing an additional 50,955 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

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.