Kennedy Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 165,554 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,258 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 0.56% of Business First Bancshares worth $4,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,618,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,599,000 after purchasing an additional 245,491 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 607,810 shares of the company's stock worth $15,624,000 after purchasing an additional 46,492 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 538,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,837,000 after acquiring an additional 88,546 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 5.0% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 472,430 shares of the company's stock worth $12,141,000 after acquiring an additional 88,230 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BFST shares. Raymond James raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group raised Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Business First Bancshares
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.46 per share, for a total transaction of $38,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 264,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,728,696.10. This trade represents a 0.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Business First Bancshares Stock Performance
NASDAQ BFST traded up $0.29 on Friday, hitting $22.73. 101,440 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 86,082. The business's 50 day moving average price is $24.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.97 and a 52-week high of $30.30. The company has a market capitalization of $671.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.75.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 11.88%. Equities analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.
Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.78%.
About Business First Bancshares
(
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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