Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 25,404 Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 67.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,037 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,404 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Business First Bancshares were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BFST. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,520 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 389.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 86.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other news, Director Mark P. Folse sold 4,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.51, for a total value of $143,241.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 53,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,572,469.86. This trade represents a 8.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Donald Chad Carter sold 3,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.27, for a total value of $103,026.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $378,044.01. The trade was a 21.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,178 shares of company stock valued at $436,335. 5.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on BFST shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Stephens upped their target price on Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Business First Bancshares from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $28.69 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.64. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.07 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $849.51 million, a P/E ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.86.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 17.01%.The company had revenue of $69.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.41 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to repurchase $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, February 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.51%.

About Business First Bancshares

Business First Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Business First Bank, a regional community bank headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company provides a full suite of commercial and retail banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals and individual consumers. Business First Bancshares operates under a community-focused model, emphasizing personalized service, local decision-making and relationship banking.

The company’s primary business activities include commercial lending, treasury and cash management, and deposit services.