Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 29th, there was short interest totalling 225,600 shares, a decrease of 6.4% from the February 14th total of 241,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 53,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days.
Business First Bancshares Stock Down 0.7 %
Shares of NASDAQ:BFST opened at $21.09 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $22.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Business First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $13.05 and a 12-month high of $25.57. The firm has a market cap of $534.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.11 and a beta of 0.94.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $101.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.40 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 18.22%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.
Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
BFST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James cut Business First Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, January 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.33.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Business First Bancshares
Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares
In other news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.37, for a total value of $156,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $543,725.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 1,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 93.7% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 631.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 4,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 65.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 5,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065 shares during the last quarter. 41.88% of the stock is currently 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. 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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