Creative Planning Takes $476,000 Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $476,000. Creative Planning owned approximately 0.07% of Business First Bancshares at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BFST. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 1,380.0% during the second quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 370,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,051,000 after buying an additional 345,000 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 19.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,115,000 after buying an additional 68,506 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 8.2% during the second 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. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at about $802,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 2,249.7% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 22,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 21,395 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 13.3 %

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $29.56 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.09. The company has a market cap of $873.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.97 and a 1 year high of $29.68.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.24 million. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 11.57%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total transaction of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $471,264.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 6,000 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.36, for a total value of $158,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,891,282.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $471,264.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,980 shares of company stock worth $366,992 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

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.