Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.13 EPS

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.13, Zacks reports. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.36% and a net margin of 15.90%. The firm had revenue of $112.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.22. 130,632 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 90,278. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Business First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $16.92 and a 12 month high of $26.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $668.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $21.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.73.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, August 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 22.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,800 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.30 per share, for a total transaction of $36,540.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 262,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,334,535.50. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Hovde Group upped their price target on Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

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.