Business First Bancshares (BFST) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) is scheduled to be announcing its earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, October 24th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.56 per share for the quarter. Investors interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted 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 business had revenue of $112.05 million during 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 company posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Business First Bancshares to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:BFST opened at $25.44 on Wednesday. Business First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $17.90 and a 12-month high of $26.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $648.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Business First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.05%.

Insider Transactions at Business First Bancshares

In other news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total transaction of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $471,264.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,500 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total value of $37,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,095 shares in the company, valued at $471,264.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Saundra Strong sold 6,300 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.32, for a total transaction of $159,516.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,483. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,906 shares of company stock worth $377,392. 6.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Hovde Group lifted their price objective 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.67.

About Business First Bancshares

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.