Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Invests $579,000 in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 22,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Business First Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1,380.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 370,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,051,000 after purchasing an additional 345,000 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 19.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,115,000 after buying an additional 68,506 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 8.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 669,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,568,000 after acquiring an additional 50,955 shares during the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $802,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 384,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,862,000 after acquiring an additional 33,870 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group lowered Business First Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $30.00 to $31.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of BFST stock opened at $28.50 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.97 and a 12-month high of $30.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $26.59 and a 200-day moving average of $23.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $841.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 0.97.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.11. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 14.92%. The company had revenue of $113.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 24.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total transaction of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $471,264.60. This trade represents a 7.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total value of $65,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 183,057 shares in the company, valued at $4,819,890.81. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,980 shares of company stock worth $366,992 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

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.