Hsbc Holdings PLC Trims Stock Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 748 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.13% of Business First Bancshares worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BFST. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,358 shares during the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 17,095 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 75.8% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 5,004 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 8.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 66,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 4,900 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of 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 last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group upped 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 report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total transaction of $37,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $471,264.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $37,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at $471,264.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $141,468.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 213,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,415,000.66. 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 90 days. Company insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Stock Down 0.4 %

Business First Bancshares stock opened at $25.23 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.24. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.90 and a twelve month high of $26.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $643.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $112.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.16 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 12.19%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, August 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.05%.

Business First Bancshares 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.