Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 36,693 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the previous session’s volume of 65,318 shares.The stock last traded at $28.87 and had previously closed at $28.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Hovde Group cut Business First Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $31.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 2.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $861.68 million, a P/E ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.73.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.11. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 14.92%. The company had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 24.14%.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In related news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $471,264.60. The trade was a 7.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total transaction of $105,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 203,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,407,940.51. The trade was a 1.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,980 shares of company stock valued at $366,992 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BFST. Argent Advisors Inc. raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 4.0% during the second quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 12,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 3.0% during the second quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 20,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 3.3% in the second quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 21,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 2.9% in the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 41,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 49,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.