Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Position Boosted by Mendon Capital Advisors Corp

Mendon Capital Advisors Corp lifted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 1,380.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 370,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 345,000 shares during the quarter. Business First Bancshares comprises approximately 6.8% of Mendon Capital Advisors Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp’s holdings in Business First Bancshares were worth $8,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BFST. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 8.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 669,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,568,000 after purchasing an additional 50,955 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 494,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,183,000 after buying an additional 3,358 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,115,000 after acquiring an additional 68,506 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 333,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,231,000 after acquiring an additional 17,095 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 6.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 201,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,482,000 after acquiring an additional 11,506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.67.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total transaction of $141,468.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 213,357 shares in the company, valued at $5,415,000.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $141,468.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 213,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,415,000.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Saundra Strong sold 6,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.32, for a total value of $159,516.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,275 shares in the company, valued at $285,483. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,906 shares of company stock valued at $377,392. Insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 4.2 %

NASDAQ:BFST opened at $24.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $627.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 0.97. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $17.90 and a one year high of $26.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.29.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.13. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 15.90%. The company had revenue of $112.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.05%.

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.