American Century Companies Inc. Has $13.84 Million Stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 538,402 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 88,546 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.82% of Business First Bancshares worth $13,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Business First Bancshares by 5.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 523,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,441,000 after purchasing an additional 24,992 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 472,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,141,000 after buying an additional 88,230 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 407,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,468,000 after acquiring an additional 27,023 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 921.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 295,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,580,000 after acquiring an additional 266,380 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 222,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,709,000 after acquiring an additional 25,920 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.46 per share, for a total transaction of $38,190.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of BFST stock opened at $24.40 on Wednesday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.97 and a 12 month high of $30.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $721.07 million, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.27. 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 (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BFST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hovde Group raised shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James raised Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

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.