DA Davidson Raises Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) Price Target to $33.00

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) had its target price upped by equities researchers at DA Davidson from $32.00 to $33.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. DA Davidson’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.06% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on BFST. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Business First Bancshares from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Business First Bancshares from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Business First Bancshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Business First Bancshares Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Business First Bancshares stock opened at $27.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.22. Business First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $20.07 and a 12-month high of $28.84. The company has a market capitalization of $807.30 million, a P/E ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.86.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 17.01% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The company had revenue of $69.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.41 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Business First Bancshares announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Business First Bancshares news, CFO Greg Robertson sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total transaction of $36,974.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 67,835 shares in the company, valued at $1,791,522.35. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rick D. Day bought 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $41,325.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 267,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,366,456.75. The trade was a 0.56% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Business First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 160.2% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520 shares during the last quarter. 47.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

Business First Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Business First Bank, a regional community bank headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company provides a full suite of commercial and retail banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals and individual consumers. Business First Bancshares operates under a community-focused model, emphasizing personalized service, local decision-making and relationship banking.

The company’s primary business activities include commercial lending, treasury and cash management, and deposit services.