Research Analysts Offer Predictions for BFST FY2025 Earnings

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) – Equities researchers at DA Davidson boosted their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, January 28th. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas now expects that the company will post earnings of $3.10 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $2.70. The consensus estimate for Business First Bancshares’ current full-year earnings is $2.70 per share.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on BFST. Hovde Group raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of BFST stock opened at $26.99 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.59. The stock has a market cap of $797.28 million, a PE ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Business First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $18.97 and a 12 month high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 14.19%.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total value of $65,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 183,057 shares in the company, valued at $4,819,890.81. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 133,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $67,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 3,083 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 53,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,154,000 after acquiring an additional 3,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 75,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,752 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.