Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 23.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,465 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,585 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Business First Bancshares were worth $948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 13.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 610,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,871,000 after purchasing an additional 72,328 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 519,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,641,000 after purchasing an additional 46,690 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 228,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,576,000 after buying an additional 31,293 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 171,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,169,000 after buying an additional 6,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 1,532.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 159,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,883,000 after buying an additional 149,712 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

BFST stock opened at $25.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $748.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $29.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.31.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.03. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.94%.The firm had revenue of $80.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.50 million. Equities research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This is an increase from Business First Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 23.17%.

Business First Bancshares declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BFST. DA Davidson raised Business First Bancshares to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $30.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rick D. Day bought 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.21 per share, for a total transaction of $38,736.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 265,885 shares in the company, valued at $6,437,075.85. This trade represents a 0.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.68% of the company’s stock.

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.