Q2 Earnings Estimate for BFST Issued By DA Davidson

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) – Stock analysts at DA Davidson issued their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, April 28th. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas anticipates that the company will earn $0.62 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Business First Bancshares’ current full-year earnings is $2.72 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Business First Bancshares’ FY2026 earnings at $3.05 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Hovde Group upgraded Business First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $31.50 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Business First Bancshares Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BFST opened at $23.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $681.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 0.75. Business First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $18.97 and a 12 month high of $30.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.85.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The business had revenue of $79.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.54 million.

Business First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Business First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rick D. Day bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.46 per share, with a total value of $38,190.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 264,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,728,696.10. This trade represents a 0.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Business First Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BFST. Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Business First Bancshares in the first quarter worth approximately $355,000. Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth $816,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Business First Bancshares by 12,527.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 5,387 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $496,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $94,000. Institutional investors own 47.35% of the company’s stock.

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.