Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 13.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,500 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.11% of Business First Bancshares worth $631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BFST. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $106,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $216,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $225,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 75.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 5,004 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 4.0% during the second quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 12,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. 47.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Hovde Group raised their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $529,497.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Business First Bancshares news, EVP Saundra Strong sold 6,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.32, for a total value of $159,516.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,275 shares in the company, valued at $285,483. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $529,497.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,906 shares of company stock worth $377,392. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ BFST opened at $25.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $23.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.13. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.88 and a 52-week high of $26.85. The company has a market cap of $655.40 million, a PE ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.97.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm 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 earned $0.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.05%.

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.