Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Acquires $36,540.00 in Stock

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Rick D. Day bought 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.30 per share, for a total transaction of $36,540.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 262,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,334,535.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ BFST traded up $0.51 on Wednesday, hitting $20.70. 55,885 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,881. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.05 and a 52-week high of $25.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $528.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.72.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 22.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $10,968,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 2,365.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 246,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,760,000 after acquiring an additional 236,500 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 295,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,552,000 after acquiring an additional 59,297 shares in the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $743,000. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $713,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BFST. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Monday, January 15th. Raymond James cut Business First Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Business First Bancshares from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.33.

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.