Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Raymond James from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $30.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James' target price indicates a potential upside of 16.19% from the stock's previous close.
Separately, Hovde Group downgraded Business First Bancshares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $30.00 to $31.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.
Read Our Latest Report on Business First Bancshares
Business First Bancshares Stock Up 0.6 %
BFST stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $25.82. 198,930 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 68,950. The company has a market cap of $762.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.98. 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 1-year low of $18.97 and a 1-year high of $30.30. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $27.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.59.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.11. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The firm had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.24 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares
In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.36, for a total transaction of $158,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 185,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,891,282.52. This trade represents a 3.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,480 shares of company stock worth $329,972. 6.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BFST. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 8.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 669,530 shares of the company's stock worth $14,568,000 after purchasing an additional 50,955 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 523,626 shares of the company's stock worth $13,441,000 after buying an additional 24,992 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company's stock worth $9,115,000 after buying an additional 68,506 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 384,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,862,000 after buying an additional 33,870 shares during the period. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1,380.0% in the second quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 370,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,051,000 after buying an additional 345,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company's stock.
Business First Bancshares Company Profile
(
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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