Howard Financial Services LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,128 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $466,000. Howard Financial Services LTD. owned about 0.06% of Business First Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $116,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,631 shares of the company's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 3,883 shares during the period. KG&L Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $227,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $333,000. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total value of $65,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 183,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,819,890.81. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,480 shares of company stock valued at $329,972. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
BFST has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group cut shares of Business First Bancshares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $31.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.
View Our Latest Research Report on Business First Bancshares
Business First Bancshares Stock Performance
Business First Bancshares stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.58. The stock had a trading volume of 119,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,432. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $755.63 million, a PE ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.00. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.97 and a 12 month high of $30.30. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $26.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.30.
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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $65.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, November 30th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Business First Bancshares's payout ratio is 24.14%.
Business First Bancshares Company Profile
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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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