Curi RMB Capital LLC Sells 73,476 Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Curi RMB Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 19.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 296,524 shares of the company's stock after selling 73,476 shares during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC owned 1.00% of Business First Bancshares worth $7,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 75.8% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,506 shares of the company's stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 6.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 201,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,482,000 after buying an additional 11,506 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 2,249.7% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 22,346 shares of the company's stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 21,395 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the second quarter worth approximately $450,000. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at $471,264.60. This trade represents a 7.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were 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 directly owns 203,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,407,940.51. The trade was a 1.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,980 shares of company stock valued at $366,992 in the last ninety days. 6.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Hovde Group downgraded Business First Bancshares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $31.50 in a research note on Wednesday.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Business First Bancshares stock traded down $0.37 on Friday, hitting $28.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 88,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 65,287. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $25.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.39. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $18.97 and a one year high of $30.30. The firm has a market cap of $833.06 million, a P/E ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.97.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $65.24 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Business First Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 24.14%.

Business First Bancshares 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.