Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 198,900 shares, a drop of 13.7% from the January 15th total of 230,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 114,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James upgraded Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Business First Bancshares
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 623,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,023,000 after buying an additional 328,189 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,618,636 shares of the company's stock worth $41,599,000 after purchasing an additional 245,491 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 194.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 196,238 shares of the company's stock worth $5,037,000 after purchasing an additional 129,677 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 538,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,837,000 after purchasing an additional 88,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 472,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,141,000 after buying an additional 88,230 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.
Business First Bancshares Stock Down 1.7 %
BFST traded down $0.46 on Thursday, reaching $27.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 67,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 106,680. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $18.97 and a fifty-two week high of $30.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.88. The company has a market capitalization of $801.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 1.00.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.78%.
About Business First Bancshares
(
Get 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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