Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Invests $128,000 in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. E&G Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth $702,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 133,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,025,000 after acquiring an additional 3,809 shares during the period. MGB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth $841,000. Finally, Americana Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth $317,000. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.46 per share, with a total value of $38,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 264,285 shares in the company, valued at $6,728,696.10. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 5.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BFST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James dropped their price target on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Hovde Group raised Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $24.53 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $728.42 million, a P/E ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.68. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.97 and a 12 month high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $79.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.54 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 14.19%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.05%.

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.