Polaris Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Polaris Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 18.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Polaris Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Business First Bancshares worth $1,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BFST. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 610,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,871,000 after acquiring an additional 72,328 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 519,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,641,000 after acquiring an additional 46,690 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 228,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,576,000 after acquiring an additional 31,293 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 171,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,169,000 after acquiring an additional 6,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1,532.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,883,000 after acquiring an additional 149,712 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $23.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.14. The company has a market cap of $691.75 million, a P/E ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.86. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.07 and a 12-month high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $103.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.94 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.47% and a return on equity of 11.21%. Research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 22.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BFST shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Saturday, September 27th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.75.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director John P. Ducrest acquired 2,225 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.62 per share, with a total value of $52,554.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,716 shares in the company, valued at $323,971.92. This trade represents a 19.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 5.68% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares 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.