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

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 212,800 shares, a growth of 17.0% from the June 30th total of 181,900 shares. Currently, 6.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 61,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Business First Bancshares stock traded up $0.10 on Tuesday, hitting $25.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 134,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,441. Business First Bancshares has a one year low of $17.88 and a one year high of $26.68. The firm has a market cap of $650.51 million, a P/E ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 0.98. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.73.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $112.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.16 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 12.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, August 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 22.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $802,000. Argent Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 4.0% during the second quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 12,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.3% during the second quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 121,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,636,000 after buying an additional 4,975 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 109,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,393,000 after purchasing an additional 7,390 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by 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 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.