Business First Bancshares
Market Cap
US$310.8m
Last Updated
2020/08/11 01:14 UTC
Data Sources
Company Financials +
Executive Summary
Business First Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Business First Bank that provides various banking products and services.
Snowflake Analysis
Flawless balance sheet and good value.
Share Price & News
How has Business First Bancshares's share price performed over time and what events caused price changes?
Latest Share Price and Events
Stable Share Price: BFST's share price has been volatile over the past 3 months.
Market Performance
7 Day Return
12.7%
BFST
5.3%
US Banks
1.2%
US Market
1 Year Return
-37.0%
BFST
-17.7%
US Banks
16.8%
US Market
Return vs Industry: BFST underperformed the US Banks industry which returned -19% over the past year.
Return vs Market: BFST underperformed the US Market which returned 16.4% over the past year.
Shareholder returns
| BFST | Industry | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Day | 12.7% | 5.3% | 1.2% |
| 30 Day | 9.3% | 6.6% | 4.9% |
| 90 Day | 35.3% | 18.7% | 20.0% |
| 1 Year | -35.7%-37.0% | -14.9%-17.7% | 19.3%16.8% |
| 3 Year | n/a | -9.6%-16.9% | 43.7%34.4% |
| 5 Year | n/a | 15.0%1.0% | 75.5%56.6% |
Price Volatility Vs. Market
How volatile is Business First Bancshares's share price compared to the market and industry in the last 5 years?
Simply Wall St News
2 days ago | Simply Wall St
Why You Might Be Interested In Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) For Its Upcoming Dividend2 days ago | Simply Wall St
Why You Might Be Interested In Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) For Its Upcoming Dividend1 month ago | Simply Wall St
How Does Business First Bancshares's (NASDAQ:BFST) P/E Compare To Its Industry, After Its Big Share Price Gain?Valuation
Is Business First Bancshares undervalued compared to its fair value and its price relative to the market?
28.2%
Undervalued compared to fair value
Share Price vs. Fair Value
Below Fair Value: BFST ($15.04) is trading below our estimate of fair value ($20.95)
Significantly Below Fair Value: BFST is trading below fair value by more than 20%.
Price To Earnings Ratio
PE vs Industry: BFST is poor value based on its PE Ratio (12.2x) compared to the US Banks industry average (9.9x).
PE vs Market: BFST is good value based on its PE Ratio (12.2x) compared to the US market (18.9x).
Price to Earnings Growth Ratio
PEG Ratio: BFST is good value based on its PEG Ratio (0.3x)
Price to Book Ratio
PB vs Industry: BFST's PB Ratio (0.8x) is in line with the US Banks industry average.
Next Steps
Future Growth
How is Business First Bancshares forecast to perform in the next 1 to 3 years based on estimates from 5 analysts?
37.9%
Forecasted annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue Growth Forecasts
Analyst Future Growth Forecasts
Earnings vs Savings Rate: BFST's forecast earnings growth (37.9% per year) is above the savings rate (2.2%).
Earnings vs Market: BFST's earnings (37.9% per year) are forecast to grow faster than the US market (23.7% per year).
High Growth Earnings: earnings are expected to grow significantly over the next 3 years.
Revenue vs Market: BFST's revenue (15.3% per year) is forecast to grow faster than the US market (9.4% per year).
High Growth Revenue: BFST's revenue (15.3% per year) is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.
Earnings per Share Growth Forecasts
Future Return on Equity
Future ROE: BFST's Return on Equity is forecast to be low in 3 years time (9.5%).
Next Steps
Past Performance
How has Business First Bancshares performed over the past 5 years?
40.0%
Historical annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue History
Quality Earnings: BFST has a large one-off loss of $14.9M impacting its June 30 2020 financial results.
Growing Profit Margin: BFST's current net profit margins (17.2%) are lower than last year (25.2%).
Past Earnings Growth Analysis
Earnings Trend: BFST's earnings have grown significantly by 40% per year over the past 5 years.
Accelerating Growth: BFST's has had negative earnings growth over the past year, so it can't be compared to its 5-year average.
Earnings vs Industry: BFST had negative earnings growth (-10.3%) over the past year, making it difficult to compare to the Banks industry average (-3%).
Return on Equity
High ROE: BFST's Return on Equity (4.6%) is considered low.
Next Steps
Financial Health
How is Business First Bancshares's financial position? (This company is analysed differently as a bank or financial institution)
Financial Position Analysis
Debt to Equity History and Analysis
Balance Sheet
Financial Institutions Analysis
Asset Level: BFST's Assets to Equity ratio (10.3x) is moderate.
Allowance for Bad Loans: BFST has a sufficient allowance for bad loans (159%).
Low Risk Liabilities: 91% of BFST's liabilities are made up of primarily low risk sources of funding.
Loan Level: BFST has an appropriate level of Loans to Assets ratio (75%).
Low Risk Deposits: BFST's Loans to Deposits ratio (92%) is appropriate.
Level of Bad Loans: BFST has an appropriate level of bad loans (0.4%).
Next Steps
Dividend
What is Business First Bancshares's current dividend yield, its reliability and sustainability?
2.66%
Current Dividend Yield
Dividend Yield vs Market
Notable Dividend: BFST's dividend (2.66%) is higher than the bottom 25% of dividend payers in the US market (1.62%).
High Dividend: BFST's dividend (2.66%) is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the US market (4.35%).
Stability and Growth of Payments
Stable Dividend: Whilst dividend payments have been stable, BFST has been paying a dividend for less than 10 years.
Growing Dividend: BFST's dividend payments have increased, but the company has only paid a dividend for 2 years.
Current Payout to Shareholders
Dividend Coverage: With its reasonably low payout ratio (32.6%), BFST's dividend payments are well covered by earnings.
Future Payout to Shareholders
Future Dividend Coverage: BFST's dividends in 3 years are forecast to be well covered by earnings (20% payout ratio).
Next Steps
Management
How experienced are the management team and are they aligned to shareholders interests?
3.6yrs
Average management tenure
CEO
Jude Melville (45 yo)
9.42yrs
Tenure
US$1,294,754
Compensation
Mr. David R. Melville, III, also known as Jude, has been the Chief Executive Officer, President and Director at b1Bank and Business First Bancshares, Inc. since March 2011. Mr. Melville has served in these ...
CEO Compensation Analysis
Compensation vs Market: Jude's total compensation ($USD1.29M) is below average for companies of similar size in the US market ($USD2.03M).
Compensation vs Earnings: Jude's compensation has been consistent with company performance over the past year.
Leadership Team
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President | 9.42yrs | US$1.29m | 0.54% $ 1.7m | |
| Executive VP | 3.58yrs | US$564.03k | 0.10% $ 323.4k | |
| Senior VP & Corporate Secretary | no data | no data | no data | |
| Regional President of SWLA | 1.08yrs | no data | no data |
3.6yrs
Average Tenure
Experienced Management: BFST's management team is considered experienced (3.6 years average tenure).
Board Members
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President | 9.42yrs | US$1.29m | 0.54% $ 1.7m | |
| Independent Chairman of the Board | 9.17yrs | US$173.71k | 0.083% $ 257.8k | |
| Independent Director | 8.25yrs | US$24.50k | 0.21% $ 648.8k | |
| Director | 0.25yr | no data | 0.60% $ 1.9m | |
| Independent Director | 8.25yrs | US$23.75k | 0.19% $ 594.3k | |
| Independent Director | 15yrs | US$22.00k | 0.41% $ 1.3m | |
| Independent Director | 8.25yrs | US$22.75k | 0.15% $ 466.8k | |
| Independent Director | 8.25yrs | US$26.00k | 0.062% $ 192.1k | |
| Independent Director | 8.25yrs | US$25.25k | 0.039% $ 120.0k | |
| Independent Director | 8.25yrs | US$23.50k | 0.0055% $ 17.2k | |
| Independent Director | 8.25yrs | US$20.50k | 0.24% $ 742.8k | |
| Independent Director | 0.25yr | no data | 1.15% $ 3.6m |
8.3yrs
Average Tenure
58yo
Average Age
Experienced Board: BFST's board of directors are considered experienced (8.3 years average tenure).
Ownership
Who are the major shareholders and have insiders been buying or selling?
Insider Trading Volume
Insider Buying: BFST insiders have bought more shares than they have sold in the past 3 months.
Recent Insider Transactions
Ownership Breakdown
Dilution of Shares: Shareholders have been substantially diluted in the past year, with total shares outstanding growing by 54.6%.
Top Shareholders
Company Information
Business First Bancshares, Inc.'s company bio, employee growth, exchange listings and data sources
Key Information
- Name: Business First Bancshares, Inc.
- Ticker: BFST
- Exchange: NasdaqGS
- Founded: 2006
- Industry: Regional Banks
- Sector: Banks
- Market Cap: US$310.835m
- Shares outstanding: 20.67m
- Website: https://www.b1bank.com
Number of Employees
Location
- Business First Bancshares, Inc.
- 500 Laurel Street
- Suite 101
- Baton Rouge
- Louisiana
- 70801
- United States
Listings
| Ticker | Exchange | Primary Security | Security Type | Country | Currency | Listed on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BFST | NasdaqGS (Nasdaq Global Select) | Yes | Common Stock | US | USD | Apr 2018 |
Biography
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 ...
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2020/08/11 01:14 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2020/08/10 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2020/06/30 |
| Annual Earnings | 2019/12/31 |
Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more here.