Man Group plc Takes $2.83 Million Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Man Group plc purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 92,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,829,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 15,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 389.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 2,124 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Stock Down 0.6%

BFST stock opened at $31.02 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.56 and a twelve month high of $32.53.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $91.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.31 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George W. Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.33, for a total transaction of $313,300.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 183,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,756,730.85. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Saundra Strong sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.98, for a total transaction of $31,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $155,998.44. This represents a 17.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,275 shares of company stock worth $2,435,775. 5.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens upped their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.75.

Business First Bancshares Profile

Business First Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Business First Bank, a regional community bank headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company provides a full suite of commercial and retail banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals and individual consumers. Business First Bancshares operates under a community-focused model, emphasizing personalized service, local decision-making and relationship banking.

The company’s primary business activities include commercial lending, treasury and cash management, and deposit services.