Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $23.93, but opened at $23.00. Business First Bancshares shares last traded at $23.90, with a volume of 317 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BFST. Stephens decreased their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Hovde Group raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $711.49 million, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $23.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.74. 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 (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $77.54 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 14.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 23.05%.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other news, Director Rick D. Day bought 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.46 per share, for a total transaction of $38,190.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 264,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,728,696.10. This trade represents a 0.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 407,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,468,000 after acquiring an additional 27,023 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 121,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 29,989 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 25.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 171,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,365,000 after purchasing an additional 34,602 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Business First Bancshares by 158.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after buying an additional 28,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,709,000 after purchasing an additional 25,920 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

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.