Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 195,300 shares, a growth of 8.3% from the January 15th total of 180,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 56,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
BFST has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Monday, January 15th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Business First Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.33.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Business First Bancshares
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares
Business First Bancshares Stock Performance
BFST traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.31. 61,933 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 54,904. Business First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $13.05 and a 12 month high of $25.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $565.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 0.96.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $101.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.40 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.22% and a return on equity of 13.56%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.
Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.54%.
About Business First Bancshares
Business First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for b1BANK that provides various banking products and services. 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.
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