Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Rating) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 273,500 shares, an increase of 18.7% from the July 31st total of 230,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 43,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days.
Business First Bancshares Trading Up 0.5 %
NASDAQ BFST traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $23.77. 33,503 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,585. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.19. Business First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $20.19 and a 1-year high of $29.50. The firm has a market cap of $536.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.
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Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.06. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 21.55%. The business had revenue of $56.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.11 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 31st. Investors of record on Monday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 12th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Business First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.75%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Separately, Raymond James decreased their price target on Business First Bancshares from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 7th.
Insider Activity
In related news, Director John P. Ducrest purchased 1,712 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.39 per share, with a total value of $40,043.68. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $195,259.72. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Business First Bancshares
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 65.2% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 74,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,588,000 after acquiring an additional 29,395 shares during the period. RMB Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,729,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 2.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 368,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,856,000 after acquiring an additional 9,728 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 4.3% in the second quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 9,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 8.5% in the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 184,506 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,932,000 after acquiring an additional 14,482 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.70% of the company's stock.
About Business First Bancshares
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Business First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for b1BANK that provides various banking products and services. 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.
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