MGB Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

MGB Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 32,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $841,000. MGB Wealth Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Business First Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 407,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,468,000 after acquiring an additional 27,023 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 158.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 33,870 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 5.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 523,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,441,000 after acquiring an additional 24,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 194.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 196,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,037,000 after acquiring an additional 129,677 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ BFST traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $27.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 60,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 114,905. The company's 50-day moving average is $26.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.82. The stock has a market cap of $810.58 million, a PE ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 1.00. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.97 and a fifty-two week high of $30.30. 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 (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Business First Bancshares's payout ratio is 24.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently 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 target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group upgraded Business First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

Business First Bancshares Company 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.