Analysts Set Expectations for BFST Q1 Earnings

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) – Research analysts at DA Davidson issued their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Business First Bancshares in a report issued on Tuesday, January 28th. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $0.63 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Business First Bancshares’ current full-year earnings is $2.27 per share.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Raymond James raised Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $31.50 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Business First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST opened at $27.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $806.15 million, a PE ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.62 and a 200-day moving average of $25.54. Business First Bancshares has a one year low of $18.97 and a one year high of $30.30.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.17. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 11.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Business First Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 523,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,441,000 after purchasing an additional 24,992 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Business First Bancshares by 7.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 407,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,468,000 after buying an additional 27,023 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 9.7% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 384,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,862,000 after purchasing an additional 33,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp grew its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 1,380.0% during the second quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 370,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,051,000 after purchasing an additional 345,000 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In related news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total value of $65,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 183,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,819,890.81. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.14%.

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.