DA Davidson Remains Optimistic About BFST Earnings in FY2024

On December 19, 2024, DA Davidson, an equity research firm, updated its earnings forecast for Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST). The firm’s analyst, M. Navas, has raised the estimated earnings per share (EPS) for the fiscal year 2024 to $2.28, up from a prior estimate of $2.17. This adjustment brings DA Davidson's forecast very close to the consensus estimate for Business First Bancshares’ full-year earnings, which stands at $2.29 per share. In addition to the yearly projections, the analyst also stated expectations for the company’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.47 per share.

Business First Bancshares has received attention from other investment research firms as well. Notable changes include an upgrade from Raymond James, which moved the stock rating from "market perform" to "outperform" and set a target price of $30.00. Meanwhile, the Hovde Group has taken a different stance, lowering its rating from "outperform" to "market perform" but increasing the price target from $30.00 to $31.50 in a report issued on November 13.

Current Performance of Business First Bancshares

As of the latest trading session, Business First Bancshares opened at $25.93 on the NASDAQ. The company's market capitalization is approximately $766 million, with a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.98, indicating stability in its stock performance compared to the broader market. The company's 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages are $27.46 and $24.66 respectively, suggesting some fluctuations in stock price over this period. Business First Bancshares has reached a low of $18.97 and a high of $30.30 within the last year.

In its last quarterly earnings report on October 24, 2024, Business First Bancshares surprised investors by reporting an EPS of $0.68, which exceeded consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.11. The revenues for that quarter were reported at $113.52 million, well above the anticipated $65.24 million. The company has enjoyed a net margin of 14.92% and a return on equity of 11.57%. For comparison, the EPS for the same quarter last year was $0.71.

Dividend Announcements and Insider Sales

In addition to its earnings performance, Business First Bancshares declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid out on November 30th. Shareholders who were on record by November 15th received a dividend of $0.14 per share, equivalent to an annualized dividend of $0.56 and a yield of 2.16%, with a payout ratio of 24.14%.

In the context of insider trading, it was reported that Director Joseph Vernon Johnson sold 6,000 shares of the company on November 1 at an average price of $26.36, totaling $158,160. Following this sale, Johnson holds 185,557 shares, valued at around $4.89 million, marking a 3.13% decrease in his ownership. Over the past three months, insiders sold a total of 12,480 shares worth about $329,972, with insiders owning 6.45% of the stock.

Institutional Stake Activity

Regarding institutional investors, there has been activity around Business First Bancshares stocks. For instance, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in the second quarter by 7.2%, acquiring an additional 7,390 shares. Allspring Global Investments bought new shares during the same quarter, and Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV also expanded their holdings by 4.3%. Currently, institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 47.35% of the company's stock.

Overview of Business First Bancshares

Business First Bancshares, Inc. is the parent company of b1BANK, which provides a variety of banking services in Louisiana and Texas. Their product offerings include checking, savings, and money market accounts along with direct deposit services and certificates of deposit.

DA, Davidson, Earnings