Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 25,920 Shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,158 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,920 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.75% of Business First Bancshares worth $5,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $67,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 81.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 3,883 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $317,000. Howard Financial Services LTD. acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $466,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $579,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ BFST opened at $25.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $746.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.27. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.97 and a 52-week high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (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%. Analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.78%.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day acquired 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group upgraded Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $31.50 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Business First Bancshares 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.