Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $26.93 and last traded at $26.69, with a volume of 5562 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Hovde Group lifted their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.67.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 2.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $664.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.57.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $112.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.16 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 15.90%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. Research analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Business First Bancshares's payout ratio is 22.05%.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total transaction of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at $471,264.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total transaction of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at $471,264.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Saundra Strong sold 6,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.32, for a total transaction of $159,516.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,275 shares in the company, valued at $285,483. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,906 shares of company stock valued at $377,392 over the last quarter. 6.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Business First Bancshares by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 669,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,568,000 after buying an additional 50,955 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 19.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company's stock worth $9,115,000 after purchasing an additional 68,506 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 1,380.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 370,000 shares of the company's stock worth $8,051,000 after purchasing an additional 345,000 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 201,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,482,000 after purchasing an additional 11,506 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 121,136 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,636,000 after purchasing an additional 4,975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company's stock.

About Business First Bancshares

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.