JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 407,801 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,023 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.38% of Business First Bancshares worth $10,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BFST. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 158.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,792 shares of the company's stock worth $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 28,663 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 384,200 shares of the company's stock worth $9,862,000 after purchasing an additional 33,870 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings 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 valued at $13,441,000 after purchasing an additional 24,992 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,115,000 after purchasing an additional 68,506 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 194.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 196,238 shares of the company's stock worth $5,037,000 after buying an additional 129,677 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 203,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,407,940.51. This represents a 1.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 12,480 shares of company stock worth $329,972 over the last quarter. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Business First Bancshares stock opened at $23.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company's fifty day moving average price is $27.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $689.49 million, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 1.00. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.97 and a 1 year high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued 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 2.40%. Business First Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 24.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group lowered Business First Bancshares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $31.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th.

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.