Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.11 EPS

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.11, Zacks reports. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 12.19%. The company had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock traded up $0.63 on Friday, hitting $25.67. 33,350 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 61,042. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $654.64 million, a PE ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.97. Business First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $18.43 and a 1 year high of $26.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Hovde Group upped 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, 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. According to MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at $471,264.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total transaction of $141,468.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 213,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,415,000.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at $471,264.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,906 shares of company stock valued at $377,392. 6.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.