Invesco Ltd. Has $1.11 Million Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,328 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of Business First Bancshares worth $1,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $357,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Business First Bancshares by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 14,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 3,081 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 607,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,624,000 after buying an additional 46,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 198,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,110,000 after buying an additional 27,709 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.46 per share, with a total value of $38,190.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 264,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,728,696.10. The trade was a 0.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:BFST opened at $23.10 on Friday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.97 and a 52 week high of $30.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $23.86 and its 200-day moving average is $25.83. The firm has a market cap of $683.11 million, a P/E ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $79.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.54 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 11.88%. Equities analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 23.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James lowered their price target on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Hovde Group raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

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.