Business First Bancshares, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.14 (NASDAQ:BFST)

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 24th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of 0.14 per share on Saturday, November 30th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th.

Business First Bancshares has raised its dividend by an average of 7.7% per year over the last three years. Business First Bancshares has a payout ratio of 21.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Business First Bancshares to earn $2.60 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.5%.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock traded up $0.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.97. 75,196 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 61,248. The company has a market cap of $662.29 million, a P/E ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Business First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $18.43 and a 1-year high of $26.93. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $24.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.73.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $113.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.24 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 15.90%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In related news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total transaction of $141,468.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 213,357 shares in the company, valued at $5,415,000.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $471,264.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,906 shares of company stock worth $377,392 over the last quarter. 6.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.