Polaris Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST

Polaris Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 18.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 77,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Business First Bancshares were worth $1,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BFST. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1,532.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,883,000 after buying an additional 149,712 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 610,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,871,000 after buying an additional 72,328 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $1,490,000. Gries Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $1,329,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,150,000. 47.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director John P. Ducrest bought 2,225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.62 per share, for a total transaction of $52,554.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 13,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,971.92. The trade was a 19.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.68% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

BFST opened at $23.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $691.75 million, a P/E ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.14. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $103.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.94 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.47% and a return on equity of 11.21%. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BFST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.75.

About Business First Bancshares

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.