Business First Bancshares, Inc. Expected to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $0.47 Per Share (NASDAQ:BFST)

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) – Equities researchers at DA Davidson issued their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for Business First Bancshares in a note issued to investors on Monday, April 29th. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas expects that the company will post earnings of $0.47 per share for the quarter. DA Davidson has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Business First Bancshares’ current full-year earnings is $2.33 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Business First Bancshares’ FY2025 earnings at $2.70 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Business First Bancshares from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James downgraded Business First Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.33.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BFST opened at $20.70 on Tuesday. Business First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $13.05 and a twelve month high of $25.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $528.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.71.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 5,004 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,968,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 333,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,231,000 after acquiring an additional 17,095 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 494,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,183,000 after acquiring an additional 3,358 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $216,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.37, for a total transaction of $156,590.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $543,725.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.30 per share, for a total transaction of $36,540.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 262,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,334,535.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.37, for a total value of $156,590.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,306 shares in the company, valued at $543,725.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.05%.

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.