Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.14

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 24th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of 0.14 per share on Saturday, November 30th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th.

Business First Bancshares has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.7% per year over the last three years. Business First Bancshares has a payout ratio of 21.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Business First Bancshares to earn $2.60 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.5%.

Business First Bancshares Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.97. The company had a trading volume of 75,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,248. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $24.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.73. The stock has a market cap of $662.29 million, a PE ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.97. 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 has a 1-year low of $18.43 and a 1-year high of $26.93.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.24 million. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 15.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Business First Bancshares will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.71, for a total value of $39,387.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,497.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Saundra Strong sold 6,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was 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 approximately $285,483. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the business’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 value of $39,387.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,497.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,906 shares of company stock valued at $377,392. 6.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Hovde Group boosted 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.67.

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.