Business First Bancshares, Inc. Forecasted to Post FY2024 Earnings of $2.07 Per Share (NASDAQ:BFST)

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) – Analysts at DA Davidson increased their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Business First Bancshares in a report issued on Thursday, October 3rd. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $2.07 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $2.05. The consensus estimate for Business First Bancshares’ current full-year earnings is $2.13 per share.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.13. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 15.90%. The business had revenue of $112.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share.

Separately, Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Business First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:BFST opened at $24.36 on Friday. Business First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $17.90 and a twelve month high of $26.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $621.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.35.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 19.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,115,000 after purchasing an additional 68,506 shares during the period. Ranger Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 333,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,231,000 after acquiring an additional 17,095 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 3.3% during the second quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 21,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 494,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,183,000 after acquiring an additional 3,358 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 5.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $141,468.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 213,357 shares in the company, valued at $5,415,000.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $141,468.12. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 213,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,415,000.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.71, for a total transaction of $39,387.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,595 shares in the company, valued at $529,497.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,906 shares of company stock worth $377,392 over the last quarter. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.05%.

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.