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Business First Bancshares, Inc. (BFST)

Financial Services | Banks - Regional | Baton Rouge, United States | NasdaqGS
31.21 USD -0.02 (-0.064%) ⇩ (Aug. 28, 2026, 4 p.m. EDT)
After hours: 31.21

Short-term:★★★⯪☆Long-term:★★★⯪☆Dividends:★★★☆☆
Hot Take | Aug. 22, 2026, 3:29 a.m. EDT

Business First Bancshares presents a compelling value case for patient capital but lacks the explosive momentum required for aggressive short-term plays. Fundamentally, the bank is a high-quality regional lender trading at a discount, boasting a robust 27.8% profit margin, a healthy 12.7% revenue growth trajectory, and a pristine payout ratio of just 21%. This leaves ample room for capital return and suggests the current price is not fully pricing in the potential for expansion. However, the market remains cautious; the stock has underperformed its broader peers over the last seven years, dragging the long-term rating down despite the solid operational metrics. On the short end, the technical picture is mixed with the stock hovering near its 50-day average, and the options market is screaming caution, with traders aggressively buying cheap put protection while offering little leverage for a rally. While the analyst consensus is strongly bullish and the valuation is attractive, the lack of immediate price acceleration and the defensive positioning of speculators suggest a slow grind upward rather than a sharp breakout. This makes it a solid core holding for income and steady appreciation, but not a high-conviction momentum trade.

Model Selection — Backtest MAE (log-scale, lower is better)
ModelMAE
AutoTheta ✓0.073225
AutoETS0.076002
AutoARIMA0.076004
MSTL0.077204

Forecast horizon: 45 days | Selected: AutoTheta

Forecast Reliability
Score 45%
H-stat 16.13
Ljung-Box p 0.000
Jarque-Bera p 0.294
Excess Kurtosis -1.05
Attribute Value
Sector Financial Services
Ex Dividend Date 2026-08-13
Last Dividend Date 2026-08-13
Revenue per Share 10.77
Market Cap 1,015,881,856
Trailing P/E 11.11
Forward P/E 9.48
Beta 0.77
Profit Margins 27.83%
Website https://www.b1bank.com

As of Aug. 22, 2026, 3:29 a.m. EDT: Speculators are positioning defensively with heavy out-of-the-money put volume relative to calls, creating a skewed risk profile where downside protection is cheap and abundant while upside speculation is thin. The implied volatility for near-term puts is significantly elevated compared to calls, suggesting a fear premium rather than a bullish expectation. Open interest is concentrated at the money strikes, indicating a wait-and-see stance rather than a directional bet.


Dividend Data

Yield Summary
Last Yield 1yr Yield 3yr Avg 5yr Avg
0.47% 2.14% 2.30% 2.27%
Dividend History
Date Dividend Yield %
2026-08-14 0.15 0.466999
2026-05-15 0.15 0.558867
2026-02-13 0.15 0.514580
2025-11-14 0.15 0.595711
2025-08-15 0.14 0.588730
2025-05-15 0.14 0.565200
2025-02-14 0.14 0.510204
2024-11-15 0.14 0.496454
2024-08-15 0.14 0.633198
2024-05-14 0.14 0.659134
2024-02-14 0.14 0.654206
2023-11-14 0.14 0.649050
2023-08-14 0.12 0.574713
2023-05-12 0.12 0.863931
2023-02-14 0.12 0.592593
2022-11-14 0.12 0.505902
2022-08-12 0.12 0.488003
2022-05-12 0.12 0.555298
2022-02-14 0.12 0.447594
2021-11-12 0.12 0.424178
2021-08-12 0.12 0.501044
2021-05-13 0.12 0.503990
2021-02-11 0.10 0.458505
2020-11-12 0.10 0.533618
2020-08-13 0.10 0.684931
2020-05-14 0.10 0.902527
2020-02-13 0.10 0.377358
2019-11-14 0.10 0.405515
2019-08-14 0.10 0.440917
2019-05-14 0.10 0.394633
2019-02-14 0.08 0.327869
2018-11-14 0.08 0.311284
2018-08-14 0.08 0.316456
2018-05-14 0.08 0.320000
Additional Data
dividendRate 0.6
dividendYield 1.92
exDividendDate 2026-08-14
trailingAnnualDividendRate 0.6
trailingAnnualDividendYield 0.019212296
lastDividendValue 0.15
lastDividendDate 2026-08-14
dividendDate 2026-08-31

Info Dump

Attribute Value
52 Week Change 0.23800075
Address1 500 Laurel Street
Address2 Suite 101
All Time High 32.525
All Time Low 9.17
Ask 40.39
Ask Size 2
Audit Risk 9
Average Daily Volume10 Day 189,590
Average Daily Volume3 Month 249,404
Average Volume 249,404
Average Volume10Days 189,590
Beta 0.772
Bid 31.32
Bid Size 1
Board Risk 9
Book Value 28.788
City Baton Rouge
Compensation As Of Epoch Date 1,767,139,200
Compensation Risk 4
Country United States
Crypto Tradeable 0
Currency USD
Current Price 31.21
Custom Price Alert Confidence HIGH
Date Short Interest 1,786,665,600
Day High 31.48
Day Low 31.2
Display Name Business First Bancshares
Dividend Date 1,788,134,400
Dividend Rate 0.6
Dividend Yield 1.92
Earnings Call Timestamp End 1,784,840,400
Earnings Call Timestamp Start 1,784,840,400
Earnings Growth 0.0
Earnings Quarterly Growth 0.094
Earnings Timestamp 1,784,836,800
Earnings Timestamp End 1,792,699,200
Earnings Timestamp Start 1,792,699,200
Ebitda Margins 0.0
Enterprise To Revenue 3.0
Enterprise Value 1,002,047,872
Eps Current Year 3.0025
Eps Forward 3.292
Eps Trailing Twelve Months 2.81
Esg Populated 0
Ex Dividend Date 1,786,665,600
Exchange NMS
Exchange Data Delayed By 0
Exchange Timezone Name America/New_York
Exchange Timezone Short Name EDT
Fifty Day Average 31.0428
Fifty Day Average Change 0.16719818
Fifty Day Average Change Percent 0.005386053
Fifty Two Week Change Percent 23.800076
Fifty Two Week High 32.525
Fifty Two Week High Change -1.3150024
Fifty Two Week High Change Percent -0.040430512
Fifty Two Week Low 22.56
Fifty Two Week Low Change 8.65
Fifty Two Week Low Change Percent 0.383422
Fifty Two Week Range 22.56 - 32.525
Financial Currency USD
First Trade Date Milliseconds 1,524,490,200,000
Five Year Avg Dividend Yield 2.22
Float Shares 30,922,063
Forward Eps 3.292
Forward P E 9.480558
Full Exchange Name NasdaqGS
Full Time Employees 821
Fullday Change -0.0200005
Fullday Change Percent -0.0640425
Fullday Price 31.21
Gmt Off Set Milliseconds -14,400,000
Governance Epoch Date 1,785,542,400
Gross Margins 0.0
Gross Profits 334,000,000
Has Pre Post Market Data 1
Held Percent Insiders 0.0463
Held Percent Institutions 0.5898
Implied Shares Outstanding 32,549,883
Industry Banks - Regional
Industry Disp Banks - Regional
Industry Key banks-regional
Is Earnings Date Estimate 1
Language en-US
Last Dividend Date 1,786,665,600
Last Dividend Value 0.15
Last Fiscal Year End 1,767,139,200
Long Business Summary 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 and savings, time, and money market accounts; and certificates of deposits, remote deposit capture, and direct deposit services. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans, such as working capital, term, equipment financing, asset acquisition, expansion and development, borrowing base, and other loan products, as well as commercial lines of credit, accounts receivable factoring, agricultural financing, and letters of credit; construction and development loans; commercial real estate loans; residential real estate loans comprising first and second lien 1-4 family mortgage loans, and home equity lines of credit; and consumer loans, including secured and unsecured installment, and term loans. In addition, it offers wealth management products, including mutual funds, annuities, individual retirement accounts, and other financial products, as well as other fiduciary and private banking products and services. Further, the company provides a range of other financial services comprising debit and credit cards, treasury and cash management, merchant, automated clearing house, lock-box, receivables factoring, correspondent banking, and other treasury services, as well as employee and payroll benefits solutions; and drive-through banking facilities, automated teller machines, night depository, personalized checks, electronic funds transfer, domestic and foreign wire transfer, traveler's checks, vault, loan and deposit sweep accounts, interest-rate swaps, small business administration products, online and mobile banking, e-statements, and bank-by-mail services. Business First Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Long Name Business First Bancshares, Inc.
Market us_market
Market Cap 1,015,881,856
Market State CLOSED
Max Age 86,400
Message Board Id finmb_45842867
Most Recent Quarter 1,782,777,600
Net Income To Common 87,553,000
Next Fiscal Year End 1,798,675,200
Non Diluted Market Cap 1,017,183,843
Number Of Analyst Opinions 5
Open 31.22
Operating Cashflow 103,295,000
Operating Margins 0.34633
Overall Risk 5
Payout Ratio 0.21
Phone 225 248 7600
Post Market Change 0.0
Post Market Change Percent 0.0
Post Market Price 31.21
Post Market Time 1,787,959,806
Previous Close 31.23
Price Eps Current Year 10.3946705
Price Hint 2
Price To Book 1.0841322
Price To Sales Trailing12 Months 3.0415626
Profit Margins 0.27831
Quote Source Name Nasdaq Real Time Price
Quote Type EQUITY
Recommendation Key none
Region US
Regular Market Change -0.0200005
Regular Market Change Percent -0.0640425
Regular Market Day High 31.48
Regular Market Day Low 31.2
Regular Market Day Range 31.2 - 31.48
Regular Market Open 31.22
Regular Market Previous Close 31.23
Regular Market Price 31.21
Regular Market Time 1,787,947,201
Regular Market Volume 177,399
Return On Assets 0.011030001
Return On Equity 0.100109994
Revenue Growth 0.127
Revenue Per Share 10.77
Sand P52 Week Change 0.20204377
Sector Financial Services
Sector Disp Financial Services
Sector Key financial-services
Share Holder Rights Risk 2
Shares Outstanding 32,549,883
Shares Percent Shares Out 0.0326
Shares Short 1,059,967
Shares Short Previous Month Date 1,784,073,600
Shares Short Prior Month 940,869
Short Name Business First Bancshares, Inc.
Short Percent Of Float 0.0343
Short Ratio 4.48
Source Interval 15
State LA
Symbol BFST
Target High Price 36.0
Target Low Price 32.5
Target Mean Price 34.7
Target Median Price 35.0
Total Cash 701,841,024
Total Cash Per Share 21.562
Total Debt 616,076,992
Total Revenue 334,000,000
Tradeable 0
Trailing Annual Dividend Rate 0.6
Trailing Annual Dividend Yield 0.019212296
Trailing Eps 2.81
Trailing P E 11.106762
Trailing Peg Ratio None
Triggerable 1
Two Hundred Day Average 28.32425
Two Hundred Day Average Change 2.8857498
Two Hundred Day Average Change Percent 0.10188266
Type Disp Equity
Volume 177,399
Website https://www.b1bank.com
Zip 70,801