Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.11 EPS

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.11, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $113.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ BFST traded up $0.93 during trading on Friday, hitting $25.97. 75,196 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,248. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Business First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $18.43 and a 12-month high of $26.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.68. The company has a market capitalization of $662.29 million, a P/E ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.97.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In other news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the company’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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,906 shares of company stock valued at $377,392 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group upped their price target 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.67.

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.