Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Short Interest Up 6.4% in September

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 187,000 shares, an increase 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 presently 2.2 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $529,497.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of Business First Bancshares 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 sale, the insider now owns 20,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,497.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 business’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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,906 shares of company stock worth $377,392. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 5,004 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 8.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 66,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after buying an additional 4,900 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 5.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 201,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,482,000 after buying an additional 11,506 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake 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 valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 21,395 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:BFST traded up $0.59 on Wednesday, reaching $26.28. The stock had a trading volume of 85,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,662. The company has a market capitalization of $670.19 million, a P/E ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Business First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $17.90 and a 1-year high of $26.85.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $112.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.16 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 15.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.67.

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.