Business First Bancshares, Inc. $BFST Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) by 6.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 649,100 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,370 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Business First Bancshares were worth $16,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Business First Bancshares by 19.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 43,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after acquiring an additional 7,120 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Business First Bancshares by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 30,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 5,756 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $330,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $346,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Business First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $209,000. 47.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Rick D. Day purchased 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.21 per share, with a total value of $38,736.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 265,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,437,075.85. This represents a 0.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total value of $36,974.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 67,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,791,522.35. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Business First Bancshares Stock Performance

Business First Bancshares stock opened at $26.26 on Wednesday. Business First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.07 and a fifty-two week high of $29.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $777.56 million, a P/E ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.87.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.03. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.94% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The firm had revenue of $80.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.50 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Business First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Business First Bancshares declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Business First Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, November 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Business First Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Business First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 23.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.75.

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.