Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,578 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,500 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.37% of Business First Bancshares worth $2,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,618,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,599,000 after acquiring an additional 245,491 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 538,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,837,000 after purchasing an additional 88,546 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 472,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,141,000 after purchasing an additional 88,230 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,362,000. Finally, Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $967,000. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.46 per share, with a total value of $38,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 264,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,728,696.10. The trade was a 0.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $22.22 on Wednesday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.97 and a 52-week high of $30.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.88 and a 200 day moving average of $25.97. The company has a market capitalization of $656.65 million, a P/E ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.75. 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 (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 14.19%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, February 15th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.78%.

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.