Empowered Funds LLC Acquires New Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 121,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,731,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.37% of Business First Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gator Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Business First Bancshares by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 65,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 242,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,343,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 9.6% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 12,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In related news, COO Keith Mansfield sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total value of $134,736.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,474,619.12. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George W. Cummings III sold 15,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $428,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 281,180 shares in the company, valued at $8,024,877.20. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 78,275 shares of company stock worth $2,435,775. Corporate insiders own 5.67% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BFST opened at $30.68 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $998.63 million, a PE ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.77. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.56 and a fifty-two week high of $32.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $91.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.31 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 17.07%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Business First Bancshares Company 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.