Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Hovde Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $31.50 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $30.00. Hovde Group's price target points to a potential upside of 9.79% from the company's current price.
Business First Bancshares Price Performance
NASDAQ:BFST traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $28.69. The stock had a trading volume of 105,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 64,499. 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 has a 52 week low of $18.97 and a 52 week high of $30.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $847.50 million, a PE ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.97.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.11. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 14.92%. The firm had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares
In related news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total transaction of $37,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $471,264.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total value of $105,987.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 203,077 shares in the company, valued at $5,407,940.51. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $37,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at $471,264.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,980 shares of company stock valued at $366,992 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company's stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at about $67,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at about $106,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at about $116,000. KG&L Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 75.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 5,004 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
Featured Articles
Before you consider Business First Bancshares, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Business First Bancshares wasn't on the list.
While Business First Bancshares currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering where to start (or end) with AI stocks? These 10 simple stocks can help investors build long-term wealth as artificial intelligence continues to grow into the future.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
