Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Director Sells $428,100.00 in Stock

Posted by Geri Gentry on Jun 12th, 2026

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Free Report) Director George Cummings III sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $428,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 281,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,024,877.20. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ BFST opened at $29.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $950.33 million, a P/E ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.79. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.51 and a 1 year high of $30.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $89.25 million for 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.28%.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,080,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 17.5% in 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 last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 12.6% in 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 last quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 52.7% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 3.2% in 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 last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on BFST. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens set a $33.00 target price on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.33.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Business First Bancshares

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.