What is DA Davidson’s Forecast for BFST Q3 Earnings?

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) – Analysts at DA Davidson issued their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Business First Bancshares in a report issued on Wednesday, July 30th. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas expects that the company will post earnings per share of $0.69 for the quarter. DA Davidson currently has a “Buy” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Business First Bancshares’ current full-year earnings is $2.72 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Business First Bancshares’ FY2025 earnings at $2.75 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.20 EPS.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.47% and a return on equity of 11.50%. The company had revenue of $103.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.94 million.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on BFST. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BFST opened at $23.75 on Thursday. Business First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $20.07 and a twelve month high of $30.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.65 and a 200-day moving average of $24.77. The firm has a market cap of $705.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.80.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. Gator Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1.2% during the first quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 42,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 15.2% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In related news, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total transaction of $25,759.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,254.20. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.68% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.05%.

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.