Howard Financial Services LTD. Takes $466,000 Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Howard Financial Services LTD. bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 18,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $466,000. Howard Financial Services LTD. owned about 0.06% of Business First Bancshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 7.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 407,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,468,000 after acquiring an additional 27,023 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 158.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 28,663 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Business First Bancshares by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 384,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,862,000 after purchasing an additional 33,870 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Business First Bancshares by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 523,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,441,000 after purchasing an additional 24,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 19.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,115,000 after buying an additional 68,506 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

BFST opened at $25.58 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.97 and a 12-month high of $30.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $755.63 million, a PE ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.00.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.11. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The firm had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, November 30th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.14%.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 3,980 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total transaction of $105,987.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 203,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,407,940.51. This represents a 1.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,480 shares of company stock worth $329,972. 6.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group cut Business First Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $31.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

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.