Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 28.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,353 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,850 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Business First Bancshares were worth $883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 81.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 3,883 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $304,000. Americana Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $317,000. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $466,000. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BFST shares. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $31.50 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James upgraded Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.46 per share, for a total transaction of $38,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 264,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,728,696.10. The trade was a 0.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ BFST opened at $24.40 on Wednesday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.97 and a 12-month high of $30.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $721.07 million, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 1.04.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 11.88%. Analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 24.78%.

Business First Bancshares 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.