Argent Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST)

Argent Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,949 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc. owned 0.05% of Business First Bancshares worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 494,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,183,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in Business First Bancshares by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 333,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,231,000 after buying an additional 17,095 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 201,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,482,000 after buying an additional 11,506 shares in the last quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV grew its holdings in Business First Bancshares by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 121,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,636,000 after buying an additional 4,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 109,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,393,000 after acquiring an additional 7,390 shares in the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Business First Bancshares news, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the business’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 transaction of $39,387.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,595 shares in the company, valued at $529,497.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $141,468.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 213,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,415,000.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Warren Mcdonald sold 1,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.71, for a total transaction of $39,387.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,595 shares in the company, valued at $529,497.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,406 shares of company stock valued at $340,372. Company insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 0.5 %

BFST traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $24.42. The company had a trading volume of 42,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 58,480. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.81. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.88 and a 12-month high of $26.68. The company has a market cap of $622.76 million, a PE ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.98.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its 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. Business First Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 15.90%. The firm had revenue of $112.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. 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.