Business First Bancshares (BFST) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) will announce its earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.57 per share for the quarter. Persons interested in listening to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.22% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company had revenue of $101.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. On average, analysts expect Business First Bancshares to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.1 %

BFST opened at $20.17 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Business First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $13.05 and a fifty-two week high of $25.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $515.10 million, a PE ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.63 and its 200 day moving average is $21.54.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BFST. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Monday, January 15th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Business First Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.37, for a total value of $156,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,725.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BFST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 272,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,619,000 after acquiring an additional 13,611 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 45.8% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 3,055 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 173,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,218,000 after buying an additional 29,982 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 10,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 925 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after buying an additional 935 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is owned by 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.