Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Stock Rating Lowered by Hovde Group

Hovde Group downgraded shares of Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $31.50 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $30.00.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of BFST opened at $28.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Business First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $18.97 and a 1-year high of $30.30. The stock has a market cap of $844.25 million, a PE ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.97.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $113.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.24 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 14.92%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.14%.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.36, for a total transaction of $158,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,891,282.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 6,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.36, for a total value of $158,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 185,557 shares in the company, valued at $4,891,282.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total transaction of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $471,264.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,980 shares of company stock valued at $366,992. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $67,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $116,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 3,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KG&L Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $227,000. 47.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Business First Bancshares

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.