EntryPoint Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 9,525 Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 921.9% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 295,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,580,000 after buying an additional 266,380 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,618,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,599,000 after acquiring an additional 245,491 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 194.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 196,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,037,000 after purchasing an additional 129,677 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 538,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,837,000 after purchasing an additional 88,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 472,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,141,000 after purchasing an additional 88,230 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.46 per share, with a total value of $38,190.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 264,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,728,696.10. This trade represents a 0.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BFST. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $31.50 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of BFST opened at $24.48 on Friday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.97 and a 52 week high of $30.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $723.43 million, a PE ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.26.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 14.19%. Research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.78%.

Business First Bancshares 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.