Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 23.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 472,430 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 88,230 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 1.60% of Business First Bancshares worth $12,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 921.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 295,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,580,000 after acquiring an additional 266,380 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,362,000. Fourthstone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,150,000. Finally, Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $967,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares
In other news, Director Rick D. Day bought 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased 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 $6,728,696.10. The trade was a 0.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Business First Bancshares Trading Down 1.1 %
Shares of NASDAQ:BFST traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 173,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 77,159. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.23. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.97 and a 1 year high of $30.30. The firm has a market cap of $722.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS 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 forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.
Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.78%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James upgraded Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. 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 report on Friday, January 24th.
View Our Latest Research Report on BFST
Business First Bancshares Profile
(
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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