Analysts Expect Business First Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:BFST) to Announce $0.46 Earnings Per Share

Posted by Kelly Messenger on Oct 12th, 2019 // Comments off

Business First Bancshares logo Analysts predict that Business First Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:BFST) will announce earnings of $0.46 per share for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Two analysts have made estimates for Business First Bancshares’ earnings, with estimates ranging from $0.45 to $0.46. Business First Bancshares reported earnings of $0.37 per share during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 24.3%. The business is scheduled to report its next earnings results on Monday, October 28th.

On average, analysts expect that Business First Bancshares will report full-year earnings of $1.82 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.79 to $1.86. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the business will post earnings of $1.94 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.85 to $2.07. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share calculations are an average based on a survey of analysts that cover Business First Bancshares.

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.05. Business First Bancshares had a net margin of 19.47% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $24.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.12 million.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BFST. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Business First Bancshares in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stephens downgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded shares of Business First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Business First Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.67.

Shares of BFST stock traded up $0.28 on Friday, hitting $24.23. 429 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,589. The firm has a market cap of $317.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 0.22. Business First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $20.64 and a 52 week high of $26.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

In other Business First Bancshares news, Director Andrew D. Mclindon bought 1,900 shares of Business First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.81 per share, for a total transaction of $47,139.00. Also, EVP Donald A. Hingle II sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total transaction of $36,735.00. Insiders own 7.43% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new stake in Business First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $227,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 317.5% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 10,909 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 551,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,026,000 after acquiring an additional 19,827 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 656,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,702,000 after acquiring an additional 113,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Business First Bancshares by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 122,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 7,122 shares in the last quarter. 43.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Business First Bancshares Company Profile

Business First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Business First Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers various deposit products and services, including a range of checking, demand, money market, time, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; and remote deposit capture and direct deposit services.

Analysts Expect Business First Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:BFST) to Announce $0.46 Earnings Per Share

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