Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Upgraded by Hovde Group to “Outperform” Rating

Hovde Group upgraded shares of Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $33.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $31.50.

Separately, Raymond James raised Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 8.8 %

BFST opened at $27.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Business First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $18.97 and a twelve month high of $30.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $817.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.48.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 14.92%. Analysts predict that Business First Bancshares will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, February 15th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 24.78%.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total value of $105,987.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 203,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,407,940.51. This trade represents a 1.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 12,480 shares of company stock worth $329,972 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 26.1% during 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. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 6.8% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 53,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,154,000 after buying an additional 3,385 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 75,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,752 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 81.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 3,883 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.