American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 19.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 538,402 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 88,546 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.82% of Business First Bancshares worth $13,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BFST. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 81.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 3,883 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at $294,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $304,000. Finally, Americana Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth about $317,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company's stock.
Business First Bancshares Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:BFST traded down $2.21 during trading on Thursday, reaching $22.52. 116,169 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 82,382. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.26. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.97 and a 12 month high of $30.30. The firm has a market cap of $665.51 million, a PE ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 1.04.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 11.88%. Research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Business First Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 24.78%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have issued reports on BFST shares. Hovde Group upgraded Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James upgraded Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.
View Our Latest Stock Report on BFST
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.46 per share, for a total transaction of $38,190.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 264,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,728,696.10. This represents a 0.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
About Business First Bancshares
(
Free Report)
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.
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