Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 237,600 shares, a decrease of 20.3% from the August 15th total of 298,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 103,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 103,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of BFST stock opened at $24.21 on Friday. Business First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $30.30. The stock has a market cap of $716.62 million, a PE ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $24.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.19.

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

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.31%.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director John P. Ducrest purchased 2,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.62 per share, with a total value of $52,554.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,971.92. This trade represents a 19.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BFST. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1,532.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,883,000 after buying an additional 149,712 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 13.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 697,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,190,000 after acquiring an additional 82,349 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 13.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 610,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,871,000 after acquiring an additional 72,328 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the first quarter worth about $1,490,000. Finally, Gries Financial LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the first quarter worth about $1,329,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on BFST. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.75.

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.