Empowered Funds LLC Buys 3,809 Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,812 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,809 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Business First Bancshares were worth $2,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 3,083 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $476,000. KG&L Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $227,000. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $405,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $432,000. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.2 %

BFST stock opened at $27.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $810.58 million, a P/E ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 1.00. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.97 and a twelve month high of $30.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.36 and a 200-day moving average of $25.80.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 14.19%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, February 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BFST shares. Raymond James upgraded Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group upgraded Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

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.