Americana Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 12,338 Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Americana Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 12,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $317,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 133,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 75,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,752 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 81.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 3,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KG&L Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $227,000. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BFST. Hovde Group upgraded Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James raised Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $27.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $815.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.97 and a twelve month high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 14.19%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.78%.

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.