Share Repurchase Plan Initiated by Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Board of Directors

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 0.9%

BFST stock opened at $24.48 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.14. The company has a market cap of $724.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.86. Business First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $20.07 and a twelve month high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.03. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.94%.The company had revenue of $80.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.50 million. Analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Business First Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. 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. Finally, DA Davidson raised Business First Bancshares to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.75.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day bought 1,600 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.21 per share, for a total transaction of $38,736.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 265,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,437,075.85. The trade was a 0.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Ducrest bought 2,225 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.62 per share, with a total value of $52,554.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 13,716 shares in the company, valued at $323,971.92. This trade represents a 19.36% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

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.