Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $30.30 and last traded at $30.29, with a volume of 14305 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group cut Business First Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $30.00 to $31.50 in a research report on Wednesday.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $25.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.32. The company has a market cap of $844.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.97.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.24 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 11.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 24.14%.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In related news, 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 value of $105,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 203,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,407,940.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total value of $105,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 203,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,407,940.51. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $37,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $471,264.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,980 shares of company stock valued at $366,992 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 3,883 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at $67,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 194.8% in the third 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. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $579,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 75,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,752 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.