Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) will likely be issuing its Q1 2025 quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, April 24th. Analysts expect Business First Bancshares to post earnings of $0.61 per share and revenue of $77.54 million for the quarter.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 11.88%. On average, analysts expect Business First Bancshares to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.
Business First Bancshares Stock Up 3.4 %
BFST traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.25. 116,512 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 86,759. The company has a market cap of $687.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.75. Business First Bancshares has a one year low of $18.97 and a one year high of $30.30. The company's fifty day moving average price is $24.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.
Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Business First Bancshares's payout ratio is 24.78%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Separately, Hovde Group upgraded Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th.
Get Our Latest Analysis on BFST
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.46 per share, with a total value of $38,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 264,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,728,696.10. The trade was a 0.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 6.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Business First Bancshares Company Profile
(
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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.
Further Reading

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