Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.11 EPS

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.11, Zacks reports. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 15.90%. The business had revenue of $113.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of BFST traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.97. The stock had a trading volume of 75,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,248. Business First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $18.43 and a 12-month high of $26.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $24.84 and its 200 day moving average is $22.73. The company has a market capitalization of $662.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.97.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 22.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $471,264.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $471,264.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Saundra Strong sold 6,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.32, for a total value of $159,516.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,483. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,906 shares of company stock valued at $377,392. Insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Hovde Group upped their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.67.

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.