Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 246,800 shares, an increase of 24.1% from the January 31st total of 198,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 107,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In other news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.46 per share, for a total transaction of $38,190.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 264,285 shares in the company, valued at $6,728,696.10. This represents a 0.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 106.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 17,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ BFST traded down $0.44 on Thursday, hitting $24.86. 8,244 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 100,562. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $26.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.19. The company has a market capitalization of $734.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Business First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $18.97 and a 52-week high of $30.30.

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

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 24.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.