Cresset Asset Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 70,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,815,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC owned 0.24% of Business First Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,618,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,599,000 after buying an additional 245,491 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 798,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,512,000 after acquiring an additional 83,664 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 607,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,624,000 after acquiring an additional 46,492 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 538,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,837,000 after purchasing an additional 88,546 shares during the period. Finally, Banc Funds Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC now owns 478,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,297,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BFST shares. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Hovde Group raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $23.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $711.49 million, a P/E ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.74. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.97 and a 1 year high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.04. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 14.19%. The business had revenue of $79.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.54 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.05%.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.46 per share, with a total value of $38,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 264,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,728,696.10. This trade represents a 0.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.