Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) was the target of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 187,000 shares, a growth of 6.4% from the September 15th total of 175,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 83,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $26.28. The stock had a trading volume of 85,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,662. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.48. Business First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $17.90 and a 12 month high of $26.85. The company has a market cap of $670.19 million, a P/E ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.97.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $112.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.16 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 12.19%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 22.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.71, for a total transaction of $39,387.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,497.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.71, for a total value of $39,387.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,497.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $141,468.12. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 213,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,415,000.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,906 shares of company stock worth $377,392 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $106,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $116,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 5,004 shares during the last quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 12,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Business First Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.67.

About Business First Bancshares

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.