George Cummings III Sells 10,000 Shares of Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Stock

Posted by Brenda Bartman on May 29th, 2026

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Free Report) Director George Cummings III sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.99, for a total value of $279,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 307,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,614,622.25. The trade was a 3.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

BFST stock opened at $28.24 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.29. The stock has a market cap of $922.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.79. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.51 and a fifty-two week high of $30.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $89.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.99 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 17.02%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 21.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $1,080,000. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 17.5% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 648,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,301,000 after acquiring an additional 96,720 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 12.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 730,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,252,000 after acquiring an additional 81,594 shares during the period. Gator Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 52.7% during the third quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 65,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 22,573 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 3.2% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 14,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BFST has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens set a $33.00 price objective on Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Business First Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.33.

View Our Latest Analysis on BFST

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Business First Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Business First Bank, a regional community bank headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company provides a full suite of commercial and retail banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals and individual consumers. Business First Bancshares operates under a community-focused model, emphasizing personalized service, local decision-making and relationship banking.

The company’s primary business activities include commercial lending, treasury and cash management, and deposit services.