Swiss National Bank Increases Stock Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 14.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,408 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.18% of Business First Bancshares worth $1,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BFST. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 14,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 3,081 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 16,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,362,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 51,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 4,413 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 1.0%

BFST stock opened at $25.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $744.74 million, a PE ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 0.85. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $20.07 and a one year high of $30.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $24.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $103.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.94 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.47% and a return on equity of 11.21%. As a group, analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.31%.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other news, Director John P. Ducrest bought 2,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.62 per share, for a total transaction of $52,554.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 13,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,971.92. This trade represents a 19.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total transaction of $25,759.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 69,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,254.20. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BFST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.75.

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.