Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Sees Large Volume Increase

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 56,222 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the previous session’s volume of 54,143 shares.The stock last traded at $24.97 and had previously closed at $24.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.00.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 2.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $643.11 million, a PE ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.72.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $60.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.93 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 17.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.30 per share, with a total value of $36,540.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 262,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,334,535.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 6.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ranger Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 17,095 shares during the last quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,276,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,945,000 after acquiring an additional 16,094 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Business First Bancshares by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 189,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,675,000 after acquiring an additional 9,489 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.