Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $3.12 Million Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 32.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,344 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,989 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.41% of Business First Bancshares worth $3,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 921.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 295,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,580,000 after purchasing an additional 266,380 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 194.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 196,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,037,000 after acquiring an additional 129,677 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,150,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 171,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,365,000 after acquiring an additional 34,602 shares during the period. Finally, MGB Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $841,000. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 264,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,728,696.10. This trade represents a 0.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BFST traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.45. 173,599 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 77,410. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $26.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $722.55 million, a P/E ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.04. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.97 and a twelve month high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Hovde Group raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

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.