Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 3,385 Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,006 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,385 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.21% of Business First Bancshares worth $1,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BFST. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 669,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,568,000 after buying an additional 50,955 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 494,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,183,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,115,000 after purchasing an additional 68,506 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 333,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,231,000 after buying an additional 17,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 6.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 201,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,482,000 after buying an additional 11,506 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.71, for a total transaction of $39,387.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $529,497.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.71, for a total transaction of $39,387.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,497.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total transaction of $141,468.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 213,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,415,000.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,906 shares of company stock valued at $377,392 over the last 90 days. 6.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.67.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BFST opened at $24.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $621.23 million, a P/E ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $24.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.35. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.90 and a twelve month high of $26.85.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.13. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 12.19%. The business had revenue of $112.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, August 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.05%.

Business First Bancshares Company 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.