AQR Capital Management LLC Makes New $333,000 Investment in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 15,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $333,000. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Business First Bancshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFST. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,115,000 after buying an additional 68,506 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Business First Bancshares by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 669,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,568,000 after buying an additional 50,955 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $802,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 2,249.7% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 22,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 21,395 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares in the second quarter worth $450,000. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In related news, EVP Saundra Strong sold 6,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.32, for a total value of $159,516.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,483. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $141,468.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 213,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,415,000.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Saundra Strong sold 6,300 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.32, for a total value of $159,516.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,275 shares in the company, valued at $285,483. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,906 shares of company stock valued at $377,392 over the last ninety days. 6.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Hovde Group raised their price target on 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.67.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ BFST opened at $26.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.90 and a 52 week high of $26.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $670.19 million, a P/E ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $24.29 and its 200 day moving average is $22.51.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $112.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.16 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 15.90%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, August 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.05%.

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.