Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.00.

Separately, Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.30 per share, with a total value of $36,540.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 262,785 shares in the company, valued at $5,334,535.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,968,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Business First Bancshares by 2,365.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 246,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,760,000 after purchasing an additional 236,500 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 2,249.7% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 22,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 21,395 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $450,000. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $501,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

BFST stock traded up $0.71 on Friday, reaching $25.93. 22,993 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,013. Business First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $16.92 and a twelve month high of $26.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.52 and a 200-day moving average of $21.72. The firm has a market cap of $661.27 million, a PE ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.98.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $60.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.93 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.08% and a return on equity of 12.80%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Business First Bancshares will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.