Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 246,800 shares, an increase of 24.1% from the January 31st total of 198,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 107,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BFST opened at $25.07 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.18. The company has a market cap of $740.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Business First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $18.97 and a 52 week high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 11.88%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rick D. Day bought 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.46 per share, with a total value of $38,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 264,285 shares in the company, valued at $6,728,696.10. This trade represents a 0.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BFST. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $496,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $94,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 16,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $128,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BFST. Raymond James raised Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group raised Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

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.