Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $25.04, but opened at $25.94. Business First Bancshares shares last traded at $25.78, with a volume of 3,179 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.11. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 12.19%. The firm had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group raised their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $471,264.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $471,264.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total transaction of $141,468.12. Following the transaction, the director now owns 213,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,415,000.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,906 shares of company stock worth $377,392. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Argent Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 12,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 20,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 21,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ClariVest Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 41,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 3.7 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $24.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.73. The company has a market cap of $662.29 million, a P/E ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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.