Q4 Earnings Estimate for BFST Issued By DA Davidson

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) – DA Davidson issued their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for Business First Bancshares in a report released on Monday, October 28th. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas forecasts that the company will earn $0.37 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Business First Bancshares’ current full-year earnings is $2.14 per share.

Separately, Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

BFST opened at $26.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $674.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $24.99 and a 200 day moving average of $22.84. Business First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $18.97 and a fifty-two week high of $26.93. 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 (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $113.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.24 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 12.19%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $106,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $116,000. KG&L Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $227,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 5,004 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Advisors Inc. increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 12,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.