DA Davidson Has Positive Outlook for BFST FY2025 Earnings

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) – Equities research analysts at DA Davidson lifted their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, November 26th. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $2.76 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $2.75. DA Davidson has a “Buy” rating and a $32.00 price objective 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’ Q4 2025 earnings at $0.73 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.04 EPS.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released 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 net margin of 15.94% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $80.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.50 million.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.75.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BFST opened at $26.25 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $777.39 million, a P/E ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.91. Business First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $29.27. 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 fifty day moving average is $24.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.44.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 160.2% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.21 per share, for a total transaction of $38,736.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 265,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,437,075.85. This trade represents a 0.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 5.68% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, November 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Business First Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.17%.

Business First Bancshares announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.