Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $30.30 and last traded at $30.29, with a volume of 14305 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Hovde Group lifted their price target on Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

Business First Bancshares Stock Down 0.2 %

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 50-day simple moving average of $25.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $880.59 million, a PE ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.97.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $113.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $65.24 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 14.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total value of $105,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 203,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,407,940.51. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total transaction of $105,987.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 203,077 shares in the company, valued at $5,407,940.51. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $37,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $471,264.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,980 shares of company stock valued at $366,992 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $106,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $116,000. KG&L Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $227,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 75.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 5,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 12,949 shares of the company's stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.

About Business First Bancshares

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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