FY2024 EPS Estimates for Business First Bancshares, Inc. Boosted by Analyst (NASDAQ:BFST)

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) – Research analysts at DA Davidson increased their FY2024 EPS estimates for Business First Bancshares in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, October 3rd. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas now forecasts that the company will earn $2.07 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $2.05. The consensus estimate for Business First Bancshares’ current full-year earnings is $2.13 per share.

Separately, Hovde Group increased their price objective 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.67.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ BFST opened at $24.06 on Friday. Business First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $17.90 and a 12 month high of $26.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $613.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.32.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.13. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 12.19%. The firm had revenue of $112.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BFST. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1,380.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 370,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,051,000 after acquiring an additional 345,000 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 19.6% in 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 669,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,568,000 after acquiring an additional 50,955 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $802,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 2,249.7% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 22,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 21,395 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.