Joseph Vernon Johnson Sells 3,980 Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 available through this hyperlink.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ BFST opened at $26.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.97 and a 52 week high of $27.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.18 and its 200 day moving average is $22.94. The company has a market cap of $670.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.97.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.24 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 11.81%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 75.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 5,004 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 66,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 4,900 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 201,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,482,000 after purchasing an additional 11,506 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 2,249.7% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 22,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 21,395 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

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.