Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Short Interest Update

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 301,136 shares, a growth of 21.0% from the January 29th total of 248,938 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 217,275 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 217,275 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Insider Activity

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $41,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 267,385 shares in the company, valued at $7,366,456.75. The trade was a 0.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donald Chad Carter sold 3,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.27, for a total transaction of $103,026.06. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,044.01. The trade was a 21.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 13,778 shares of company stock worth $399,361 over the last 90 days. 5.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,591,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,566,000 after acquiring an additional 17,690 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,083,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,333,000 after purchasing an additional 59,639 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 823,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,523,000 after purchasing an additional 175,284 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 731,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,119,000 after buying an additional 14,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 730,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,252,000 after buying an additional 81,594 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Business First Bancshares Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $27.00 on Friday. Business First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $20.07 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The company has a market cap of $883.17 million, a P/E ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.96.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $69.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.41 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 17.01%. As a group, analysts expect that Business First Bancshares will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, February 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.51%.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

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.