Business First Bancshares, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.14 (NASDAQ:BFST)

Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 24th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of 0.14 per share on Saturday, November 30th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th.

Business First Bancshares has raised its dividend by an average of 7.7% annually over the last three years. Business First Bancshares has a payout ratio of 21.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Business First Bancshares to earn $2.60 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.5%.

Business First Bancshares Trading Up 3.7 %

NASDAQ BFST traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $25.97. The company had a trading volume of 75,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,248. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $662.29 million, a P/E ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $24.84 and a 200 day moving average of $22.73. Business First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $18.43 and a 1-year high of $26.93.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.11. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 12.19%. The firm had revenue of $113.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Business First Bancshares will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Business First Bancshares

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 213,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,415,000.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Business First Bancshares news, EVP Saundra Strong sold 6,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.32, for a total transaction of $159,516.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,275 shares in the company, valued at $285,483. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 5,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total transaction of $141,468.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 213,357 shares in the company, valued at $5,415,000.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,906 shares of company stock worth $377,392. Corporate insiders own 6.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Hovde Group lifted their price objective on Business First Bancshares from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.67.

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.